New task force to review support for people with disabilities and mental health conditions in legal system

SINGAPORE: A new task force has been launched to look at how support for people with invisible needs, such as disabilities and mental health conditions, can be enhanced within Singapore’s criminal justice system, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said on Thursday (Jan 8). 

The Inclusive Justice Taskforce aims to identify how the government can better support such individuals who are at risk of offending or may interact with the criminal justice system, including those accused as well as victims.

The task force will be co-chaired by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Social and Family Development Eric Chua and veteran lawyer Peggy Yee, an advocate for people with invisible needs in the justice system.

It will also bring together members from public agencies and private sector partners, including lawyers, policymakers, law enforcement officers, social service professionals and healthcare experts.

These members will review the entire criminal justice process – from the pre-offending stage and criminal investigations to court processes, sentencing and post-sentencing support measures.

“They will also take stock of the existing measures, identify areas for improvement, and propose potential reforms for the government to consider implementing,” said MinLaw.

At the Access to Justice Symposium in March last year, Ms Yee, the founding director of law firm PY Legal, expressed her hope for a multi-agency task force comprising ministries and social support agencies to be established.

Then-Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong said at the same symposium that MinLaw was committed to such a task force.

Ms Yee has long pushed for a fairer, more inclusive criminal justice system in Singapore – one with better management, treatment and sentencing frameworks for persons with invisible disabilities. 

On the new task force, she said: “Individuals with mental health conditions and disabilities are often unable to advocate for themselves and would benefit from dedicated support in navigating the justice system.”

She said she and Mr Chua were looking forward to working with members of the task force to co-create practical solutions to support vulnerable individuals – accused persons, victims or witnesses – with “empathy and fairness” as they interact with the criminal justice system.

Mr Chua said that task force members would also include advocates for the disability and special needs community to represent their voices. “Work will be done to review current practices, identify gaps, and develop recommendations to address them,” he added.