Training will be given to current prison guards at Samoa's Tanumalala Prison so they can become police officers too.
Tanumalala high security prison. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Tipi Autagavaia
Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil said some of the 44 new recently graduated recruits would be assigned to serve at the prison.
He said those already at Tanumalala would also go through the same 14 week course so if needed they could operate as police officers.
The Samoa Observer newspaper reported these were all part of new plans the Ministry of Police was carrying out now that it had been given control of the country's prison services.
The re-jig happened after a spate of high-profile prison escapes.
"Ultimately it's all of us that need to come together to keep Samoa safe," Fuiavailili said.
Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil Photo: RNZ Pacific / Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia