A police spokeswoman said a precinct employee spotted a man scaling a wall to get over a gate on the Lichfield St side of the building about 10am on Monday. (File photo).

A Christchurch man has been arrested after attempting to scale a wall into the city's Justice and Emergency Services Precinct.

A police spokeswoman said a precinct employee spotted the man climbing the wall to get over a gate on the Lichfield St side of the building about 10am on Monday.

"While he made it to the top of a wall, the man did not at any stage enter the precinct [and] instead he was promptly taken into custody by attending officers."

A 26-year-old man was set to appear in the Christchurch District Court on Monday afternoon.

The $300 million precinct, constructed by Fletcher Building, opened in September 2017. lt houses the Ministry of Justice, police, Department of Corrections, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, St John and Civil Defence.