On 18 April 1825, the first batch of penal convicts arrived in Singapore and were housed in temporary huts along the Bras Basah Canal and the philosophy of deterrence through punitive measures rather than rehabilitation was adopted.

In 1847, a civil jail was built at Pearl's Hill but overcrowding remained a major issue and a continued punitive approach in prison management led to a high rate of recidivism.

The Ministry of Home Affairs set up a Prisons Re-Organisation Committee to review the system of rehabilitation, industrial training and work discipline.

In 1998, Chua Chin Kiat took over as Director of Singapore Prison Service from Poh Geok Ek when the latter retired.

On 31 December 1999, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the redevelopment of Changi Prison Complex, Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng unveiled the new vision and revised mission together with the "Captain of Lives" tagline.

The complex serves as the detention centre for death row inmates before they are executed by hanging, which traditionally takes place on a Friday morning.

The Yellow Ribbon Project was also launched on 2 October 2004 to raise public awareness and acceptance towards ex-offenders and support their re-integration into society.

On 1 November 2007, Ng Joo Hee took over office from Chua Chin Kiat, the latter moving on to become the executive director of AETOS Security Management.

They make up SPS's line units and are grouped under five Commands – Cluster A and B contain five institutions each, which are situated within the Changi Prison Complex (CPC).

The CARE Network is the first formal structure that brings together key community and government agencies to promote seamless in-care to aftercare support for ex-offenders.

The system triggers an alert within 15 to 30 seconds of detecting such actions, which could include violence, fighting or suicide attempts.

[12][11] Although the SPS officers are armed with less-than-lethal weapons such as the Monadnock PR-24 side handle baton/knightstick (more commonly known as the T-baton) and pepper spray while on duty, they are trained in firearms, which may be issued depending on the circumstances.