SINGAPORE – Younger people are falling prey to terrorist ideology compared to those picked up during the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) sweep from 2001, a trend which required changes to the rehabilitation programmes here.

For youth cases, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said additional attention is paid to address the non-ideological factors that led to their radicalisation.

These include their sense of belonging and identity, critical thinking skills to discern radical rhetoric online, and mental resilience to cope with life stressors.

In a statement on Wednesday (Feb 3), the ISD noted that seven radicalised youth dealt with since 2015 were between 16 and 19. The youngest individuals dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for JI-related activities were aged 20 and 21.

Between 2007 and 2014, the youngest self-radicalised person dealt with under the ISA was 20 years old.

In light of this trend, the ISD said the rehabilitation approach was adjusted to meet the needs of a “more diverse groups of detainees/supervisees in recent years”.

“While priority continues to be given to address the ideological misconceptions that underpin their radical mindsets, we have also taken care to address non-ideological factors that played a role in their radicalisation.”

The statement followed news last month that a 16-year-old student was detained in December last year after plotting an attack on Muslims at two mosques here.

The local teenager of Protestant faith is the youngest person detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities, and the first to be inspired by far-right extremist ideology.

Commenting on the case earlier, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said that Singapore’s approach of providing religious counselling to radicalised youths is better for their rehabilitation than charging and imprisoning them.

He also noted that the 16-year-old’s arrest is part of a worrying trend.

The ISD said of the seven young people detained, one has been released on a Restriction Order (RO), another remains on RO, while the ROs for two have been allowed to lapse.

A person on an RO may not change his residence, employment or travel out of Singapore without official approval. He also cannot issue public statements or join organisations without approval.

He usually continues to undergo rehabilitation, like counselling, to steer him away from radical ideology and extremism.

“Throughout their detention, and even after they are released on RO, detainees work closely with psychologists to address their propensity for hatred and violence, and vulnerability to radical influence.

“The psychologists will also help them to reframe the faulty reasoning that underlie their radical beliefs. As part of this process, the psychologists regularly assess behavioural and cognitive aspects of the detainees’ progress in rehabilitation,” said the ISD.

For cases involving young people, ISD said it pays extra attention to factors that lie outside of the systemic misunderstandings about religion or beliefs that typical radicalised cases would involve.

“Efforts are made to enable the detainees to continue with their education, where it is practicable. This was assessed to be critical in keeping these youths motivated and focused.

“We have worked with their families, schools and other rehabilitation stakeholders to create a conducive environment to facilitate their studies,” said the ISD.

A mentoring programme tailored for young detainees was also introduced in 2016.

The department said the mentor-mentee relationship would continue after their release to ensure that they stay focused on pro-social goals.

“The mentor functions as a positive influence and provides additional social support to mitigate their risk of re-engagement in terrorism-related activities,” added the ISD.

In one case, the detained youth was assigned a mentor who is a trained teacher and also member of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) Secretariat.

The voluntary group, comprising individual ulama and a community of asatizah in Singapore, correct the misinterpretation of Islamic concepts and dispel the extremist and terrorist ideologies they have been indoctrinated with.

The youth, spurred by his mentor, sat his GCE O Level examinations while in detention and qualified for studies in a polytechnic.

In another case, a radicalised youth, who was placed under RO in 2015, learnt of his tendency to be misled by information he found online after engagements with his religious counsellor and psychologist.

The ISD said he made good progress in recognising the importance of contextualising religious teachings and had his RO lapsed in 2019.

Since 2002, ISD has dealt with 129 Singaporeans for terrorism-related conduct, out of which 41 were given ROs.

The remaining 88 were detained, of which 68 have been released.

All cases that have been released from detention or are under RO are subjected to a supervision regime.

ISD said this is to ensure that they can take early action should the former detainees show any signs of reverting to radical ideology or re-engaging in terrorism-related activities.

The department added that rehabilitation efforts, including those involving radicalised youths, can only work if the individual involved is open to change.

While the majority of radicalised cases do get to be successfully rehabilitated, it said that there are others for whom progress has been difficult to achieve, as some have chosen not to cooperate with rehabilitation stakeholders and continue to see them as the “enemy”, said ISD.

It added: “We will continue to explore ways to reach out to these detainees.”

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