Working With Juvenile Delinquents

As parents, this is probably a taboo topic which not many would like to discuss. I am sure that each and every parent would want the “BEST” for their child. Unfortunately, some parents do face problems and require assistance from external parties to resolve their issues with their children. There are many avenues, ie. counselling & psychological services offered in schools, churches, family service centres and etc. where parents can turn to when seeking help for their juvenile delinquents; depending on the severity of their individual problems. However, if all these avenues fail and in the worst case scenarios… What should we as parents do? Let me share with you a personal encounter…

Recently, I met a friend of mine who is a mother of three sons aged between 7yrs – 13yrs. She came to me seeking advice about a problem which she was facing with her eldest son. Being a single parent, she had to work most of the time to make ends meet and had no choice but to leave her three children in the care of her neighbour. Her children had to fend for themselves and her eldest son had to bear the added responsibility of looking after his younger siblings.

Although it was difficult at first, her children soon learnt to adapt to the changes and everything was fine initially. There wasn’t any drastic changes in their behaviour and this caused the mother to be complacent. Her over-reliance on her eldest son soon became her downfall. Little did she realise that her eldest son was feeling neglected as he lacked attention from his mother. He started looking up to his peers in school. Unfortunately, the peers whom he looked up to were not in the teacher’s good books. He started mixing with bad company in & out school where he picked up smoking, getting involved in fights and skipping classes. Due to his bad behaviour, he got suspended from school several times before he was finally expelled nearing the end of Secondary One.

By this time, the relationship between the mother and child had drifted far apart. The mother realised that she had to do something to mend their relationship. She desperately tried to get him into another school but her son had lost interest in his studies. She tried forcing him to go to school but later realised that he was playing truant. One day, she decided to send him to school personally and handed him over to the school teacher to ensure that he attended school. Later that day, she received a call from the school informing her that he had gone missing. When she returned home to look for him, he was not at home and his cupboard was half empty. Suspecting that he had run away from home, she filed a missing person report. A week later, she received a call from the authorities telling her that they have found him. Worried for his safety, she rushed to fetch him home. When she saw him, he looked different with the dyed hair and ear piercing. A closer inspection revealed some self-made tattoos on his fingers.

As with any true mothers, she was not willing to give up hope on her first born son and felt that it was not too late for him to change. Upon reaching home, she tried talking to him in an attempt to find out what had gone wrong. Unfortunately, he was the least bit interested and her words just fell on deaf ears. That very same night, he went missing again. Once again, she tried desperately to look for him but to no avail. Just as she was about to return home, she passed by a LAN Gaming Centre and saw her son with a group of “Ah Bengs”. When she called out to him, he turned around to look at her. His “newly found friends” asked him who she was and his reply was, “That stupid old woman is my mother lah…!!”. He told them to ignore her and to move on. When she tried to stop him, he pointed his index finger to her face and threatened to get his friends to beat her if she dared to stand in their way. Feeling utterly disappointed with her son, she unwillingly allowed him to leave with his friends and broke down in tears. She came to see me the following day to seek advice on what she should do with her son.

Taking into consideration the severity of her situation and as her son is below the age of 16, as a parent, she is allowed to make a complaint to the juvenile court “IF” she has already exhausted all means necessary to take control of her son. Of course, making a complaint (Beyond Parental Control) at the juvenile court is “LAST RESORT” and should only be considered if there are no other alternatives. Let me sum up in a nutshell what would happen is she does proceed with making a complaint against her son.

BEYOND PARENTAL CONTROL
The Juvenile Court only makes a Beyond Parental Control (BPC) Order if parents can prove to the satisfaction of the Court that the child is beyond parental control. Prior to this, parents will have to go through Pre-Complaint Counselling with your child conducted by the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS) at the Juvenile Court so as to filter the borderline cases away from the Court system. They will do a preliminary assessment to see if they can work with the family to help them with the child. In the meantime, the case will be adjourned pending counselling sessions with SCS. Ultimately, if SCS is able to work with the family. The case will be closed when the family returns to court on the adjourned date, in the event that the parent(s) elect to withdraw the complaint. If the SCS is unable to help the family, the matter proceeds in the Juvenile Justice System.

In the event that Court intervention is necessary, the Magistrate will confirm with the parent(s) that they are proceeding with the complaint before calling for a Social Report on the child. Pending the preparation of the Social Report by Welfare Officers from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). The Court may order the child to be placed in detention (either the Singapore Boys’ Home or Toa Payoh Girls’ Home) while the case is adjourned to a later date pending the social report from MCYS. Upon returning to the Court on the adjourned date, the Court will make the appropriate orders.

The Magistrate and 2 Panel Advisers to the Juvenile Court will discuss and consider the Social Report on your child. Subject to your consent, your child may be ordered to:

(a) be sent to an Approved Home for not less than 2 and not more that 3 years; or
(b) be placed on statutory supervision for a specified period, not exceeding 3 years, under the supervision of a Social Worker.