The Acting Police Commissioner, Leiataua Samuelu Afamasaga is confident that they are now better equipped to minimise jail breaks from the Tanumalala Prison.

The Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Services is boosting its numbers and has implemented rehabilitation programs for the inmates in a bid to improve their behaviour.

Leiataua was asked by Samoa Observer during an interview on Tuesday, for an update on the effectiveness of security at the Tanumalala Prison, following a prison break in March last year.

"The Tanumalala prison is operating well and with God's guidance as well. We're continuing the rehabilitation programs and we also just completed a course for the prisoners funded by the U.S. Embassy which we will soon post on our Facebook," Leiataua said. "From then to now, everything has been well."

Throughout this year, the inmates have been at church-related events, such as the Congregational Christian Church Samoa (C.C.C.S.) and the Methodist Church of Samoa annual conferences, as part of their rehabilitation programs.

According to the Police, the prisoners were not participating in the conferences but selling their handicrafts and furniture which they made in prison.

Leiataua said an improvement has been noticed in the prisoners through the various programs they have been running and are participating in.

"They're okay we're continuing with the rehab programs as I mentioned and in terms of their behaviour, it's not a hundred per cent since it's their behaviour that got them here. But they're doing well and behaving well enough to prevent them from any prison break or breaches."

The Acting Commissioner added that the prison's policies remain as in the previous years including for parole where prisoners are allowed outside of the prison to visit their families.

In March last year, reports from inside the prison indicated that convicts were getting out of their cells with the guards at the high-security prison. 

The Minister of Police and Prisons, Faualo Harry Schuster confirmed in previous interviews about being briefed on "something brewing at the prison”.

“The information I have is that the prisoners haven’t broken out but are outside of the cells," he said. “I would know more after I get another updated report, more police officers from town are attending to the incident…”

The last mass prison break was in 2021 when an inmate at the Tanumalala Prison used a ladder to scale the prison's multi-million-tala “anti-climb” fence and fled early Sunday morning but was later caught around midday on the same day.