PRISON IN SINGAPORE 2008

WHEN plans were drawn up for a sprawling prison complex in the late 1990s, the authorities thought they might have 23,000 people behind bars beyond 2010.
The average daily inmate population had been climbing, hitting 17,697 by 2002. But then the numbers began to slow down, and last year it hit 11,768 - a 10-year low. The figures do not include those on programmes such as home detention and work release schemes.
It was an unexpected but happy situation. Accordingly, the brakes have been put on the completion of the Changi Prison Complex. Prisons director Ng Joo Hee said two of the four clusters will not go up for now. It is money saved too, given the dizzying rise in construction costs.
So why the lower numbers?
One reason: fewer 'returnee' prisoners. In 1998, almost one in two freed prisoners were back in jail within two years. In 2005, only one in four went back.
Getting the drug situation under control helped too. In 1997, drug rehabilitation centres housed 5,508 abusers. Last year, just 451 were locked up.
Mr Ng offered a third reason: 'In an ageing population, you generally see a lower crime rate. Therefore, there is lower incarceration.'
The crime rate last year was 696 per 100,000 people, a drop from 974 in 1997.
One other factor: The courts have been slower to pack convicts to jail. Senior lawyers like Mr T. U. Naidu noted judges have become more open to other sentencing options like probation.