Mr Ang Mong Seng:

To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what is (i) the main cause for the increasing number of rioting youths, from 250 in 2001, 446 in 2002, 493 in 2003 to 512 in 2004; and (ii) the profile of these youths in terms of per capita family income, family size, educational level and ethnic group.

Answer:

First, let me give some perspective to the figures Mr Ang cited. The number of youths arrested for rioting have actually stabilised between 2002 and now. It declined significantly between 1997 to 2001, from 539 arrests to 250 arrests. Between 2001 and 2002, there was a spike upwards (from 250 to 446). In 2004, there were 512 arrests. The numbers arrested for the first half of this year, compared to a similar period last year, came down from 255 to 212. But as I have said many times before, even one arrest is one too many.

2. There is no one root or main cause leading to riotous behaviour amongst youths but a multiple of factors that interplay with one another.

3. A key cause identified by Police is that more youths are congregating in groups. Most of the youths arrested for rioting were congregating in groups of 5 to 10 persons. They hang out in public housing estates at void decks, lift landings, etc. and at common public areas such as the streets, playgrounds, etc, which are locations where the bulk of these rioting cases occurred. In addition, some youths look out for 'action' by deliberately targeting other groups or individuals by starting fights on the pretext of previous disputes or staring incidents.

4. Youths arrested for rioting have been predominantly male. In 2004, the percentage was 84%. The majority are aged between 14 to 17 years. In 2004, 43% of youths arrested for rioting were students below the year of 16 with secondary school education. The next largest group of youths arrested for rioting are unemployed youths, accounting for 17% of arrests in 2004. Half of the youths arrested for rioting are Chinese, with Malays, Indians and youths of other races accounting for the other half. Seven out of ten youths arrested for rioting are first time offenders. Police does not have records or data that profile such offenders based on their per capita family income or family size.

5. To tackle youth rioting, regular Police operations are conducted in the public housing estates, neighbourhood town centres, shopping centres as well as entertainment outlets where rioting incidents among youths are likely to occur. Youths who are out late at night and gathering in large groups are checked during Police operations. These checks and operations are stepped up during the school holiday period.

6. Beyond Police checks and operations, the Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime (IMYC) coordinates a series of measures encompassing preventive education, deterrence, enforcement and rehabilitation involving several Ministries and agencies such as MHA, MOE, MCYS and the National Youth Council.