Community Based Approaches to the Prevention, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Drug Offenders

Abstract

In contrast to Singapore’s zero tolerance stance on drugs, some developed countries have begun legalising drug use, raising concerns for local authorities that this will create a more permissive climate here. Drug users in Singapore have gotten younger, more affluent and also more highly educated. Given these trends, the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA) has revamped its preventive education strategy to target youth. Adopting a community-based approach meant modifying the content of the anti-drug message away from an “enforcement” logic towards an “engagement” one. Youth groups have also been equipped to conceptualise and implement drug awareness campaigns that reach out to their fellow schoolmates. In addition, SANA has started to experiment with peer-led support groups so that ex-offenders themselves can contribute to the rehabilitation of others earlier in their recovery journey, allowing a community-centric approach to complement their professional casework. These approaches make use of the strengths and untapped resources of clients themselves and broader community assets, inviting them to co-produce solutions. However, community empowerment approaches require investments in capability building, creating bridges across community assets, and establishing trust with community and clients—in other words, they depend more on social capital than financial capital. Organisations doing such work have to build bridges, establish trust and invest in capability building of the community.