Custody Officer

Police; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 75,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

New Zealand Police seeks a Custody Officer to support detainees in custody and during transit from Wellington central. You will manage welfare, apply empathetic care, and maintain professional standards across the Custody Suite and courts.

You will use strong communication, resilience, and attention to detail, working with internal teams and external partners to ensure safety and proper care.

Qualifications

• 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.

Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain the welfare of detainees in custody and during transit.
• Uncover information using active listening and communication skills.
• Collaborate with external stakeholders to ensure appropriate care and support for vulnerable detainees.

Skills

Strong communication

Resilience

Attention to detail

Duty of care

Team player

Decisive, calm

Data entry

Tools

Police systems

Job description

Requisition ID6019627-Posted11/09/2026-Wellington-Permanent FT

Mō te tūnga | About the role

As a New Zealand Police Custody Officer you will be joining 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 Wellington central. As a Custody Officer, you will manage and maintain the welfare of people detained in our care across our Custody Suite and local Courts. Through an empathetic approach, you treat everyone in a dignified manner regardless of their circumstances.

• 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 values
• 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
• Be a New Zealand citizen or hold permanent residence.
• 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 full time.
  • Court Custody roles operate Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm, based from Wellington Central Police Station.
  • District Custody roles operate 24x7x365 following a rotating 2-2-2 roster, including two early shifts, two late shifts and two overnight shifts, followed by 4 days off
  • All roles require flexibility to work across different shift patterns, including weekends and public holidays, as required.

This role isIndividual Contributor/Emerging Leaderlevel. 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.

Applications close at 5pm, Sunday 27th September 2026.