October 17, 2022

On 1 November 2012, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) was restructured to form the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). Formerly, the MCYS aimed to involve Singaporean youths in nation-building measures but was later restructured to provide social-safety nets to youths and families at risk. With its mission “to nurture resilient individuals, strong families, and a caring society”, MSF provides a plethora of services such as rehabilitation and protection programmes.

In ‘Risk and Criminogenic Needs of Youth Who Sexually Offended in Singapore: An Examination of Two Typologies’ (Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 2015), the likelihood of Singapore youth sexual offenders to re-offend are examined based on the different classifications of the crimes they have committed. In this study conducted by Gerald Zeng (Ministry of Social and Family Development), Adjunct Associate Professor Chi Meng Chu (Ministry of Social and Family Development & NUS Department of Psychology), Li Lian Koh (Ministry of Social and Family Development), and Adjunct Assistant Professor Jennifer Teoh (Ministry of Social and Family Development & NUS Department of Psychology), the youths’ risks and needs are contrasted in two categories. In the first, youths who have committed both sexual and non-sexual offenses are compared with those who have committed only sexual offenses. In the second category, youths who have perpetrated sexual crimes against children (aged 12 and less) are contrasted with youths who have offended against older victims (aged 13 and above).

These two typologies of youth offenders are evaluated via their scores on ERASOR (Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism) and YLS (Youth Level of Service) assessments to determine their risk factors and criminogenic needs. For this study, a sample of 167 male sexual offenders aged 12 to 18 are evaluated. The results from ERASOR and YLS reveal that youths who have committed sexual as well as non-sexual offenses have greater risk and criminogenic needs in comparison to youths who have only committed sexual offenses. On the other hand, there is an insignificant difference in the risks and needs of youths who have committed sexual offenses against child as compared to non-child victims.

The researchers also discovered that youths who have victimised children tend to have a larger number of prior sexual offenses than those who have assaulted older victims. Interestingly, youths with older sexual victims have a greater likelihood of employing brutal methods to attack strangers. This finding reveals that these young sexual offenders may more possess more antisocial tendencies than young sexual offenders that offend against children.

In a field where there is inadequate information on the risk factors and criminogenic needs of these categories of youth sexual offenders, this study presents findings that can be helpful in the future management of youth sexual offenders.

Read the full article here.