SOLUTION.
To minimise the interactions between youth offenders with a high risk of re-offending, I think that more youths can be directed towards rehabilitation and reform programmes instead of Youth Homes. The high concentrations of at-risk youth in Youth Homes may negatively influence youth offenders who are motivated and committed to rehabilitation.
The Youth Court could make decisions about what appropriate punishment should be issued based on the case details of the youth offender. Relevant personnel like the social workers can also contribute their input, to ensure that the youth offender receives a punishment that will serve to benefit his reform process. This will allow youth offenders who are motivated to change to receive rehabilitative help in a conducive environment. Through this, the mingling of youths with a high risk of recidivism can be minimised.
Beyond the dispositional orders, there is a need for better post-care support. This is especially necessary for youth offenders who lack support and care from their families. Proper resources should be present and readily available for youth offenders even after they complete their Youth Court orders.
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Post-care support for youth offenders can be improved. A longer period of support can be provided for specific youth offenders who need extra help. In Singapore, there is the Work Release Scheme for adult prisoners. These prisoners in the programme are cared for by Singapore After-Care Association (Wong, 2019). Under this scheme, they are placed in a structured environment with curfews to follow. There is strict supervision which enables them to stay disciplined. Such an approach can be adopted in the practice of juvenile rehabilitation.
The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for judgement and decision-making does not fully develop until the early 20s (Blum et al., 2009).
Youths are cognitively less capable of weighing their priorities and making reasonable choices. Therefore, there is a need for tight supervision by relevant authorities, especially for youth offenders who have a high risk of recidivism.
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In conclusion, recidivism among youth offenders is a crucial issue that needs to be resolved to ensure that future generations of youngsters do not live a life of crime. There are laws under the CYPA which protect the interest of young offenders and guide them in rehabilitation. However, these laws and structures have evident deficiencies. These solutions may possibly address the current deficits in the existing measures and aid in lowering the rate of recidivism among youth offenders.
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