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 - Multiple Vacancies
- Based at Gisborne
- Band E
- Permanent
- Multiple Vacancies available
- NAV
- JR 5361334
E tu ki te kei o te waka, kia pakia koe e nga ngaru o te wa.
Stand at the stern of the canoe and feel the spray of the future biting at your face.
Mo te tunga | About the role
Our Custody team are seeking motivated individuals with real people skills to work in the Gisborne Custody Unit 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.
Key Accountabilities:
- Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
- Ability to de-escalate emotional situations.
- High levels of empathy and compassion.
- 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:
- Outstanding communication skills
- Empathy for others
- Commitment
- Integrity
- Problem-solving abilities
- A sense of humour is also pretty important.
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 (6:30am - 2:30pm / 2:00pm - 11:00pm / 10:00pm - 7:00am) including weekends and public holidays, on 6 days on, 4 days off rota.
- Good command of the English language
This role is set at Individual Contributor level, this means your key purpose is "to deliver or enable others to deliver Our Business".
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/03-2025/custody_officer_8.pdf
Mo tatou | 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.
To view more detailed information about our recruitment process along with further details about requirements please click below link:
Applicant Information Pack (External)
Tono inaianei | 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
Utu a-tau | Salary
This position is covered by a collective agreement and salary will commence between $74,748 and $78,129 dependent on skills and experience relevant to the role.
All applications must be submitted online and will not be accepted directly via email. All applicants must have the right to work in New Zealand.
Please note: Deadline for applications is 5:00 pm on Tuesday 19th August 2025. Applications may be reviewed prior to the close date as well as contact made with candidates.
We have multiple vacancies available, please talk to me around options.
If you have any questions about this vacancy, please contact mark.cain@police.govt.nz