PACIFIC RESEARCH
EXCELLENCE

LITIA TUIBURELEVU

Litia Tuiburelevu, a Professional Teaching Fellow at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Law, is leading a two-stage research project titled “Pacific Peoples and the Criminal Justice System in Aotearoa, New Zealand: Past, Present and Future.”

Through the lens of Pacific culture, Tuiburelevu’s study aims to investigate the issue of Pacific overrepresentation in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and identify the individual, structural, and cultural factors contributing to this phenomenon.

Tuiburelevu highlights that both the lived experiences of individuals within the CJS and existing literature indicate that the system is institutionally racist and inherently flawed. She emphasizes that Pasifika peoples are disproportionately represented as both offenders and victims in the CJS. Despite comprising just under eight percent of the total population as of 2020, Pasifika peoples make up slightly over 12 percent of the prison population.

Report 1 traverses the relevant literature from the 1960s-today, and identifies the key themes impacting Pacific peoples’ interactions with the justice system.

Report 2 captures the stories from our Knowledge Holders and offers recommendations for transformative change. As researchers, we are transparent in that this work is deeply critical of the justice system and we don’t shy from advocating for abolition, decolonisation, and honouring of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

you can read and download the report here: https://www.borrinfoundation.nz/pacific-peoples-and-the-criminal-justice-system-in-aotearoa-new-zealand/