NZ & Samoa Police strengthen partnership to deliver safer communities 

Apia, SAMOA – 2 July 2026 – The Samoa Police Service (SPS) and the New Zealand Police this week launched the Samoa–New Zealand Policing Programme, a new four-year partnership focused on strengthening policing capability and supporting safer communities across Samoa.

The programme has been developed at the request of the Government of Samoa and is shaped by Samoa Police Service priorities, ensuring support is focused on the areas that matter most to Samoa.

The initiative is supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and brings together Samoa and New Zealand Police in a collaborative effort to deliver long-term, sustainable capability development.

The programme will deploy a team of five New Zealand Police advisers, working alongside Samoa Police counterparts in an advisory capacity to support organisational development, strengthen core policing functions, and enhance leadership and governance.

Partnership built on shared priorities
The Samoa–New Zealand Policing Programme builds on a strong relationship and complements existing regional cooperation across areas such as transnational crime, cyber safety, and border security.

It is designed to address evolving law and security challenges in Samoa through a focus on:

• Strengthening strategic leadership, governance, and planning
• Enhancing core policing capabilities, including investigations, police prosecutions, prevention, and community engagement
• Improving organisational systems and technical capacity
• Building sustainable training and workforce development frameworks

These priorities reflect capability needs identified by Samoa Police Service and its partners.

Support will be delivered through embedded advisers, mentoring, coaching, and joint problem-solving, with a focus on building sustainable capability over time.

A partnership by Pacific for Pacific

A partnership approach
At its core, the programme reflects a “by Pacific, for Pacific” approach, recognising the importance of local leadership, cultural understanding, and partnership in delivering effective policing outcomes. New Zealand Police staff deployed under the programme will operate strictly in an advisory role and will not exercise operational or investigative authority in Samoa.

Supporting long-term capability and trust
The programme responds to identified opportunities to enhance capability in areas such as leadership development, investigative quality, training systems, and coordination across agencies—key factors in maintaining public trust and confidence in policing services.

By embedding advisers in-country, the partnership prioritises strong relationships, context-driven solutions, and sustained support to ensure long-term impact.

Source: Press Release: New Zealand High Commission Office