Moses Faleolo

Gagana Samoa

Dr Faleolo received his PhD in Social Work in 2015 from Massey University. He is a registered Social Worker with over 10 years of experience helping young people involved in crime or experiencing social-related health issues. Through his research, including a Marsden Fund grant awarded in 2019, he has rapidly become a key leader in advancing criminological theory through the inclusion of Pacific and Indigenous knowledge. He is a regular adviser to the New Zealand government and international bodies, like the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime. In 2023 he was awarded the Indigenous Justice Award by the Australia and New Zealand Society of Criminology.

Effective prevention and response to crime must account for the social, economic, and cultural context of offenders and their communities. Indigenous criminology provides crucial knowledge to achieve this by exploring Indigenous peoples’ historical and contemporary experiences of crime, including its causes, correction, and prevention. Dr Faleolo's research is constructing a distinctive “Pacific Criminology”. He will combine knowledge from the Sāmoan worldview (fa'a Sāmoa) with analysis techniques from the social sciences to examine growing Pacific gangs within Aotearoa and Sāmoa. The methodologies will include consultations, a synthesis of the scientific literature and interviews. Dr Faleolo will collect evidence from people involved in the criminal justice system including gang members, legal practitioners, justice service sector managers, and policymakers. He will study local traditions, cultural identity, and impacts of social and historical processes as crucial factors in people’s involvement in the criminal justice system. The project will provide the groundwork for culturally responsive, and effective, approaches to mitigate gang membership and crime in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the South Pacific.

Dr Faleolo with Dennis Makalio, MMM Porirua (Supplied)