Caretaker Minister for Police and Prisons, Faualo Harry Schuster, has outlined his plans to expand prison rehabilitation programmes if the Samoa Uniting Party (SUP) is successful in the upcoming general election.

Speaking with the Samoa Observer in a follow-up interview, Faualo emphasised that the initiative—currently stalled due to the failure to pass the national budget—would focus on skills training and structural reforms within the criminal justice system.

“The rehabilitation programs, both counselling and we will seek qualified people to do the counselling,” Faualo said. “We also have volunteers who are qualified people who are providing counselling currently and also training for jobs.”

At the heart of the initiative is a shift towards job-readiness and reintegration for inmates. Currently, prisoners are engaged in various work programs, including operating a large cattle farm, plantations, vegetable gardens, and a police-run bakery.

“They’re trained on how you can harvest more, whatever it is that you grow,” said Faualo. “Training techniques for growing them so that you grow better vegetables... and also looking at providing vocational training or carpentry to upskill the people.”

He said these programmes aim to ensure that inmates “learn a skill while they're in prison” to better prepare them for life after incarceration.

"We're currently running it in the farms. And also, we have a police bakery where they're being taught how to bake bread and all of that stuff, but we are going to increase it."

He explained that the end goal is to equip inmates with the support and motivation they need to stay out of trouble once they’re released. "That’s the whole intention of separating the two and then providing comprehensive training across the board,” he added. 

“It’s incentivising people so that they think about not breaking the law when they’re released and also upskilling them so they have a skill to fall back to when they come out,” he said. Speaking on the party preparations, Faualo said: "We're working hard at persuading people to vote for us and vote us back into government. So that we can finish the job that we started."

The snap election is set for 29 August 2025.