Government to Intensify Prevention and Rehabilitation Efforts as Youth Offending Rose in 2025

Youth offending and recidivism rose in 2025 even as completion rates for MSF’s rehabilitation programmes remained high. The Government will respond by intensifying prevention efforts for scams and other common offences, strengthening interventions for youths at higher risk of reoffending, and improving early identification and coordinated support for youths at higher risk of offending.

Increase in Youth Offending and Reoffending Rates Even As Completion Rates for MSF’s Rehabilitation Programmes Remained High

2.     The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has released the 2026 Supporting Youth Rehabilitation Trends Report, covering key trends from 2021 to 2025.

3.    The key trends are as follows:

a.    Youth offending increased in 2025. The rate rose from 4.8 per 1,000 youths in 2024 to 5.6 in 2025, though it remained below the peak of 5.8 per 1,000 youths in 2021. The increase in 2025 was driven primarily by cheating and related offences; middle youths¹ and older youths continued to record higher offending rates than younger youths.

b.    Drug offending remained low and stable at around 0.5 per 1,000 youths in 2024 and 2025. Nonetheless, the Government will continue to monitor the situation closely.

c.    Offence patterns differed by age group. Theft and related offences and sexual offences remained common among younger youths. Among sexual offences, sexual penetration of a minor was the most common type committed by younger youths. This offence is made out when the victim is below 16 years of age, regardless of the victim’s consent. The increase among middle and older youths was largely associated with cheating and related offences.

d.    Completion rates for MSF’s Diversionary Programmes, Probation Orders and MSF Youth Home Orders remained high at 85.0% to 92.9% from 2021 to 2025, with a relatively stable trend². In line with the increase in the youth offending rate, the recidivism rates increased from 9.1% for the 2022 cohort to 10.3% for the 2023 cohort.

Government to Strengthen Preventive and Rehabilitative Efforts to Tackle Youth Offending and Reoffending

4.        The Government’s response is focused on three strategies: upstream interventions to support at-risk youths and their families earlier, preventive education, and delivering proportionate rehabilitation and deterrence according to each youth’s risks and needs.

a.    Upstream Interventions:

i.    Strengthening partnerships for expanded outreach to youths 
The National Committee on Preventing Offending and Reoffending (NCPR), jointly chaired by MSF and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), brings agencies and community partners together to identify risks earlier and coordinate support. Through SHINE’s Youth Community Outreach Patrol Programme, youth workers from SHINE work closely with schools and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) to equip Secondary youths to be Crime Prevention Ambassadors to positively influence their peers to avoid crime and make responsible choices.

ii.    Leveraging evidenced-based assessment tools
MSF has enhanced the Youth GO! Programme with evidence-based assessment tools to tailor interventions for youths to help them overcome challenges and stay engaged positively. Through the programme, the youths’ families are also engaged and supported to create stable, supportive home environments.

iii.    Supporting siblings
MSF is using its engagement with youth offenders to identify siblings who may face similar risks, strengthen family functioning and school engagement, and connect them with mentors, interest groups and positive peers before offending occurs.

b.    Education and Awareness:

i.    Youth sexual offences
To prevent youth sexual offending, MHA, SPF and the Ministry of Education (MOE) have strengthened education efforts addressing attitudes and behaviours that contribute to sexual crimes, and disseminated resource guides to professionals and community stakeholders. Building on this, MHA has strengthened practitioners’ (e.g.  school and community counsellors, social and youth workers) capabilities to address emerging trends, online sexual harms, and identify concerning behaviours early. 

ii.    Shop Theft
SPF and MOE also educated youths on various offences, including shop theft, through school talks, joint school advisories, and the Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS) Crime Prevention Module on shop theft and other outreach initiatives. In March 2026, SPF and MOE launched a shop theft crime prevention module on the Student Learning Space for Primary 3 to Primary 6 students, with additional crime prevention modules being developed.

SPF and Popular Bookstore published a series of shop theft prevention comics in POPCLUB Magazine, aimed at engaging younger audiences and discouraging offending behaviours.

iii.    Scams
SPF has stepped up targeted public education efforts to raise awareness among youths about the consequences of facilitating scam activities, e.g. scam mules. This includes collaboration with MOE to incorporate anti-scam messages into school advisories and outreach programmes.

iv.    Drugs
To prevent drug abuse amongst youths, the Inter-Ministry Committee on Drug Prevention for Youths (IMC) leverages resources and touchpoints across key sectors to strengthen drug prevention efforts and support youths throughout their developmental journey, to address youth drug abuse in a holistic manner.

c.    Stronger Deterrence Measures:

i.    To deter scam mules misusing SIM cards to facilitate the commission of scams, offences against the misuse of SIM cards under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act 1906 was operationalised on 1 January 2025. These offences, which fall within the scope of crimes committed by youths, empower the Police to take stronger action against three groups of offenders:
a.    Irresponsible subscribers of local SIM cards;
b.    Middlemen and scammers who receive, supply or possess local SIM cards; and
c.    Errant retailers who facilitate the fraudulent registration of local SIM cards. 

d.    Rehabilitation:

Rehabilitation is calibrated to the seriousness of the offence and each youth’s assessed risks and needs. 

i.    MSF's Diversionary programmes: Youths who commit minor offences may be diverted from court to programmes tailored to the offence and their individual risks and needs, including the Guidance Programme, (Enhanced) Streetwise Programme, and Youth Enhanced Supervision Scheme.

ii.    Court-ordered rehabilitation: Youth offenders receive Probation Orders for rehabilitation in the community or MSF Youth Home Orders for institutional rehabilitation.

iii.    Singapore Prison Service: For more serious offending or higher assessed needs, the Singapore Prison Service provides tailored rehabilitation through the Drug Rehabilitation Centre, Community Rehabilitation Centre, Reformative Training or imprisonment.

These rehabilitation efforts include psychology-based programmes, casework and counselling, education, vocational and skills training, as well as family-focused interventions, to ensure holistic support for the youth. Structured aftercare and community-based arrangements are also available where appropriate, to support youths’ transition back into society while minimising disruption to their education, employment and family relationships. Collectively, these efforts seek to address offending behaviour, strengthen protective factors and support needed for successful reintegration and reduced reoffending.

5.        Addressing the increase in youth offending remains a high priority for MSF and MHA. In its next term, the NCPR will focus on three priorities: strengthening preventive education; improving early identification and coordinated support for youths and families at higher risk; and sharpening rehabilitation and aftercare to reduce reoffending. MSF and MHA will lead this work with relevant agencies and community partners, and set out further measures as the next-term agenda is developed.

6.    The full report can be found at Supporting Youth Rehabilitation Trends Report 2026.

¹_{In the report, youths are categorised into three age groups: younger youths (10 to <16 years), middle youths (16 to <18 years), and older youths (18 to <21 years).}

²_{Completion rates for regimes under the Singapore Prison Service’s purview were not reported, as the Singapore Prison Service does not track completion rates.}

 
ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT AND THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS 

Annex A – Overview of Rehabilitation Programmes 
Annex B – Translation of Key Terms

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Annex B – Translation of Key MSF's Terms