Ex Offenders Essay

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Recommended: Does rehabilitative services affect recidivism of prisoners

The population of ex-offenders comes from all walks of life: youths, adults and elderlies. Ex-offenders generally refer to people who have committed an illegal act and served their sentence in prisons, homes or rehabilitation centres, and are released to continue their life. In the year 2013, there were 529 reported crime cases per 100,000 population in Singapore (Singapore Police Force, 2014, para. 3). Also, more than 9,000 offenders are released from prisons, homes and drug rehabilitation centres (DRCs) every year after serving their sentences (Yellow Ribbon Project, 2008, para. 1). It is heart-breaking to know that once released, these ex-offenders may find themselves literally stepping into another prison. The community may discriminate and distrust them due to their past imprisonment, and become more suspicious, forming invisible bars of a second prison. This can be more unbearable and punishing than the prison sentence itself. I am sure everybody makes mistakes in life and sometimes good people make bad and wrong choices. Previously, they may have committed their offense out of sudden craving for thrill, peer pressure or uncertainty. Nonetheless, these past mistakes do not make the ex-offenders a bad person by nature. Also, I think we should not judge someone based of their past. There may be some who are reluctant to lead a new life and fall back into a life of crimes but at the same time, there are also others who are trying really hard to turn over a new leaf and get accepted into the society. Hence, I am particularly interested in the population group of ex-offenders as I feel that these ex-offenders deserve our help and support to reintegrate into the society. An estimated figure of one in four inmates are repeated o... ... middle of paper ... ... are still unable to get a job, sharing their life stories and current work situations. Through these talks, the jobless ex-offenders would be able to understand the obstacles and challengers faced while trying to reintegrate into the society, and hence be more mentally prepared. For those giving the talks, they can feel a sense of self-fulfilment as they are deemed to have successfully attain acceptance into the society and are given the opportunity to impact the life of other ex-offenders. To sum up, I strongly feel that ex-offenders should be given a second chance in life. The CARE network and SCORE are examples of macrosystem services provided to ex-offenders in aiding their reintegration into our community. We, as the exosystem of the society, can extend these help by not discriminating the ex-offenders and welcoming them into our community with open arms.

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