Custody Officer

New Zealand Police is working with the community to make New Zealanders be safe and feel safe. With over 13,000 staff, we provide policing services 24 hours a day, every day. We operate by land, sea and air, manage over 860,000 emergency calls a year and are always actively preventing crime and crashes.

We’re working towards specific goals and targets that highlight our intent to work collaboratively with iwi and communities, other government sectors and business partners to deliver ‘Our Business’ and achieve long-term change.

Custody Officer - Christchurch Central!!!

• Canterbury District – Christchurch Central Police Station
• 2x Crime Reporting Unit positions / 1x Custody Unit Officer position

• Band E 
• Permanent – Full Time
• NAV
• JR 5413338

About the role 

The Canterbury Police District wish to fill three roles of Custody Officer (CO). The successful applicants will be based at the Christchurch Central Police Station at either the Christchurch Custody Unit or Police Reception/Front Counter, also known as the Crime Reporting Unit (CRU).

Crime Reporting Unit

At CRU you will be providing customer service for the public which includes challenging situations that need to be approached with professionalism and respect. You will be dealing with people from all walks of life and ensuring their enquiries are understood and handled appropriately. This will include but is not limited to taking witness/victim statements, recording incidents in the appropriate database, dealing with lost and found property and preparing enquiry files which may lead to prosecution.

The successful applicant must have sound computer skills and could learn new systems and applications. You must have excellent communication skills and be empathetic.

The CRU work a shift pattern of six days on followed by four days off. The shifts are a mixture of early and late shifts and include weekends. Occasionally you may be required to work at another station in Christchurch.

Custody Unit

The role of the Custody Officer is to ensure the safe, secure, and humane containment and transportation of detainees within the Police Custody environment. A Custody environment is any location where a person is in police custody, including cells, courtrooms, prisons, hospitals, and the transit between locations.

You will be responsible for ensuring the health and safety of the detainee, monitoring their behaviour and state of mind, providing the appropriate care, and ensuring professional standards are continuously met.

These duties include, but is not limited to, prisoner management, both in the custody suite and within a court environment, risk management, with an emphasis on keeping staff and prisoners safe from harm, developing and maintaining interagency relationships, data entry and ensuring legislative compliance.

This role is not for the faint hearted and will require someone who is confident, open-minded with attention to detail and willing to follow stringent safety procedures. 

The shift pattern is 2x early shifts, 2x late shifts and 2x night shifts with 4 days off.

Both roles are subject to rotation and may also include other duties within the Christchurch metro area as required.

Start date in the role will be dependent on course availability at the Royal New Zealand Police College.

He aha taau e kawe mai | What you’ll bring

Being part of the Police whänau is about being our best to ensure our communities are safe and feel safe. Our Core Competencies provide a shared understanding of the behaviours, leadership and technical competence required for success at each level of Police. Whilst we are looking for skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the role, we also place high importance on your state of mind, the alignment of your values with ours, your ability to contribute to and build high performing teams, and the way that you lead yourself or others.

The successful applicants will have the following skills and attributes:

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Resilience and perseverance, with the ability to de-escalate situations in a calm and professional manner.
• Strong attention to detail, accurate and precise, with the ability to record and prepare information such as statements for court.
• Duty of care, understanding the welfare, health, safety, and level of care required for detainees.
• Strong team player, reliable, trustworthy, flexible to work shifts, weekends, public holidays.
• Decisive, cool, calm, and collected, can think on your feet, using your initiative and work well under pressure.
• Good computer skills and are comfortable learning new systems, as you will be required to input and update data accurately in Police systems, accurate typing abilities are essential.

To be eligible to apply you must:

• Hold a full New Zealand Driver Licence
• Have the right to work and live in New Zealand. 
• Be physically fit and able to compete a fitness assessment as part of your recruitment process.
• Be willing to complete a pre-employment Medical Assessment (including a drug test) 
• Be able to work a variety of shifts within a 24 hours 7 days roster environment (including weekends and public holidays)

This role is Individual Contributor/Emerging Leader level. You can refer to Indicators for Success for further information on the requirements

To view the position description for this role please copy and paste this link into a new browser:

https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/pd/08-2023/custody_officer.pdf

Mo tātou | About us

New Zealand Police is the lead agency responsible for preventing crime and enhancing community safety. It works in partnership with individuals, communities, businesses, and other public sector agencies towards the vision of making New Zealand the safest country. Police is the government’s largest front-line response agency with around 15,000 staff in large and small communities all over New Zealand and in liaison and policing development roles overseas.

Your development is highly valued at NZ Police. Our employees enjoy significant investment in their development not only at an individual level, but also at the team and community practice level. We work hard to match you with work that will both play to your strengths and challenge you in new ways.

The work you’ll be engaged in is real, tangible work that directly benefits our frontline and communities. Taken all together, this means we can offer you career path opportunities to progress in your chosen profession and become a more well-rounded, experienced leader, with opportunities across the range of work we support.

Tono ināianei | Apply now

Please note: Applications submitted directly through the Government Jobs Website are no longer considered. Please visit our Police Careers page:

If this position sounds like you, click apply now and submit an application form. 

To view more detailed information about our recruitment process along with further details about requirements please click below link:

Applicant Information Pack (External)

Utu ā-tau | Salary

This position is covered by a collective agreement and salary will commence between $74,748.00 and $78,129.00 dependent on skills and experience relevant to the role.

When submitting your application please include your preferred role – Custody Unit or Crime Reporting Unit in the special requirements field.

If you have any questions about this vacancy, please contact Mark.Cain@police.govt.nz

Advert closes at 5pm, Sunday 10th August 2025.