First Vic custody officers graduate

The first new custody officers are set to graduate and start at their new posts in Victorian police stations.

The Andrews government made a pledge to recruit 400 new custody officers before the 2014 election to free up frontline police from "babysitting crooks".

The first group of recruits will graduate on Friday after a training course in human rights, prisoner well-being, privacy, and operational safety and tactics, Victoria Police said.

The officers will be responsible for transporting and supervising prisoners and looking after their welfare by organising medical treatment, meals and visits.

The officers, who are unsworn and unarmed, will begin work at Ballarat, Bendigo, Dandenong, Geelong, Heidelberg and Sunshine police stations next week.