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Volunteers needed for new scheme

SINGAPORE — Around 100 volunteers will be recruited for the pilot phase of the Appropriate Adult Scheme for Young Suspects.

SINGAPORE — Around 100 volunteers will be recruited for the pilot phase of the Appropriate Adult Scheme for Young Suspects.

To reach this target, the National Council of Social Service and other service providers will be actively conducting recruitment drives and doing outreach within the community, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said.

Another avenue of manpower will be the existing volunteers from the Appropriate Adult Scheme for persons with mental disabilities, which started in 2015 and is now administered by the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (Minds). There are 208 volunteers so far, mainly working adults and retirees. Another 34 people signed up recently and are waiting to see if they will be appointed.

Ms Jennifer Teoh, director (clinical and forensic psychology service) at MSF, said: “We can potentially tap that to allow (existing volunteers) to go through specialised training, so that they can better manage and help our young people. We’re calling also for members of the public to come on board if they’re interested and passionate in helping young people.”

Volunteers will be trained to pick up signs of distress, provide emotional support, and facilitate communication between the young suspect and the police.

The new scheme’s success depends on getting sufficient volunteers, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said. “It’s not going to be easy because people are busy. Getting people to come in and be present — I don’t underestimate the challenge.”

Minds took over the administration of the scheme for persons with mental disabilities from the Law Society last January. Mr Keh Eng Song, chief executive of Minds, said that there have not been any issues with recruiting volunteers, who have gone on to facilitate police interviews with people who have intellectual disabilities, autism and mental illness.

The non-governmental organisation reaches out to potential volunteers through community events, and organises a one-day training session for them to learn about their role and basic police procedures, and the communication skills needed to relate to the people they support. Challenges remain, such as language barriers and activation times. For instance, finding a volunteer fast for a late-night assignment would be more challenging than in the day, Mr Keh said.

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