Custody Officer - Casual

Custody Officer (Authorised Officer)

• Based in Auckland Central


• Casual Contract

E tῡ ki te kei o te waka, kia pakia koe e ngā ngaru o te wā. 

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

Mō te tūnga | About the role

Our Custody team are seeking motivated individuals with real people skills to work in the Auckland City District Custody Units in the key role of Custody Officer.

The role of a Custody Officer is to ensure the safe, secure, and humane containment and transportation of all 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 are 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 requires confident, open-minded people with high attention to detail and an ability to follow stringent safety procedures.

Nga kawenga matua | Key Accountabilities:

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.


• Ability to de-escalate emotional situations.


• Resilience, perseverance, and calm, 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.

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.

We are looking for people who can demonstrate the following:

• Outstanding communication skills


• Empathy for others


• Commitment


• Integrity


• Problem-solving abilities


• This is a casual role with an on-call component, so the ability to work at short notice is an advantage

To be eligible to apply you must:

• Hold a full (Clean) New Zealand Driver Licence (Class 2 license is an advantage).


• New Zealand Citizen or Permanent Residency.


• Be physically fit and able.


• Be willing to complete a pre-employment Medical Assessment (including a drug test)


• Be able to work a variety of shifts including weekends and public holidays


• Available subject to rotation / demand to work in Custody Units across Auckland City District


• Have a good command of the English language

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/10-2025/custody_officer_0.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

If this position sounds like you, click apply now and submit a tailored CV. You will be required to submit an application form. Before confirmation of hire, pre-employment checks will be undertaken which include reference, drug and alcohol testing and police vetting prior to any written offer being made.  

For further information on the application process, please copy and paste this URL: https://www.police.govt.nz/careers 

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

Applicant Information Pack (External)

Please note all applictions:

• Must be submitted via our Police Careers page and will not be accepted directly via email


• Must be a New Zealand Citizen or hold Permanent Residency


• Will undergo Police Background checks

If you have any questions about this vacancy, please contact [email protected]

Applications close at 5pm, Sunday 28th June 2026.  Applications may be reviewed prior
to the close date as well as contact made with candidates.