Casual - Authorised Officer

Police; Wairoa; On-site; NZD 75,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

New Zealand Police in Wairoa is seeking a Custody Officer to join the Custody Unit. You will manage welfare and safety of detainees during custody and transit, in a role that emphasizes empathy and dignity.

This position involves working closely with the court and frontline teams, with opportunities for development and progression within policing. Training is provided with a cost covered by NZ Police.

Qualifications

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Resilience and perseverance, de-escalation in challenging situations.
• Attention to detail for accurate statements and court-ready documents.

Responsibilities

• Uncover and collect information using active listening and communication.
• Maintain composure and mitigate risk in adverse situations with the team.
• Collaborate with external stakeholders to ensure detainee welfare.
• Remain vigilant, adaptive to change, and uphold high professional standards.
• Demonstrate commitment to ongoing training.

Skills

Strong communication

Resilience

Attention to detail

Duty of care

Team player

Decisive under pressure

Computer skills

Tools

Police systems

Job description

Requisition ID6080716-Posted22/10/2026-Eastern-Casual

• Starting salary of $75,495.00 (pro rata)
• Be physically fit and able to complete a fitness assessment as part of your recruitment process
• Casual
• Required to complete an online psychometric
• Attend the NZ Police College in Wellington or Auckland for 4 weeks training (costs covered by NZ Police)
• JR 6080716

Stand at the stern of the canoe and feel the spray of the future biting at your face

Mō te tūnga | About the role

As a New Zealand Police Custody Officer, you will join our highly skilled and professional team to manage the health and safety of detainee’s whilst they are in our custody and during transit.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Custody Unit based in Wairoa. As a Custody Officer, you will manage and maintain the welfare of people detained in our care across our Custody suite and courthouse in Wairoa. Through an empathetic approach, you treat everyone in a dignified manner regardless of their circumstances.

Key Accountabilities:

• You will be able to uncover and collect information using your active listening and communication skills.
• You will be resilient when faced with adverse situations, maintaining composure, and working alongside team members to mitigate and de-escalate potential risk.
• You will work collaboratively with external stakeholders to ensure appropriate care and support for vulnerable detainees is available.
• In a fluid operational environment, you must be adaptable to change, remain vigilant to detainee needs and maintain high standards of professionalism that align with our business
• Demonstrate commitment to ongoing training.

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

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 skillsand 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
• Reside within 30minutes of the Wairoa Police Station
• Be available to work scheduled court fixtures in Wairoa, planned events and, where available, to work additional hours to support the Wairoa Police managing detainees.
• Be willing to complete a pre-employment Medical Assessment (including a drug test)

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

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.

This position is covered by a collective agreement and salary will commence between $75,495.00 and $78,910.00 dependent on skills and experience relevant to the role and would be pro rata for a casual position.

I f you are an internal applicant, you must apply internally through the police system. You must provide an alternative contact email address and state your future commitments should you be successful in the next stage of the recruitment process.

Please note: Deadline for applications is 5:00 pm on Thursday 5th November 2026. Applications may be reviewed prior to the close date as well as contact made with candidates.