Danyl McLauchlan: The rot at the top of the NZ Police

Jevon McSkimming and Andrew Coster were once our top police officers. Photos / Getty Images.

There must have been a moment – horrifying, vertiginous, the worst in his life? – when former police commissioner Andrew Coster learnt that objectionable material featuring child sexual exploitation and bestiality had been found on the work devices of his former colleague, deputy police commissioner Jevon McSkimming. By then Coster
was head of the new Social Investment Agency, one of National’s flagship projects. The quick, methodical mind that took him to the heights of the public service would have instantly grasped the dire consequences for his own career.

McSkimming’s phone and laptop were examined as part of an Independent Police Complaints Authority (IPCA) investigation regarding allegations of sexual misconduct by McSkimming towards a junior non-sworn staff member.

But the IPCA was also scrutinising the conduct of senior police around their handling of these complaints. The release of its report this month revealed Coster and his team failed to act when those allegations were made and delayed investigating. And when a review was finally conducted, they interfered with it so as not to compromise McSkimming’s ambition to replace Coster as head of police.

Coster is now on leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Public Service Commission.

Journalists are often accused of cynicism. Why can’t they write about all the good things that happen in the world? One of the drivers of the bleak worldview – especially among political reporters – is the knowledge of just how much wickedness in high places goes unpunished; the routine methods by which investigations and inquiries are used to protect the powerful, rather than expose them. The IPCA review is a rare exception to this rule. It offers a case study of how bureaucracies avoid accountability while creating the illusion of oversight.

When the allegations against McSkimming became impossible to ignore, the police senior leadership team knew to define a narrow scope for its inquiry – which wasn’t even called an inquiry; it was a “review”. Its terms of reference framed McSkimming as “the victim”, while the woman making the complaint against him was treated as a defendant under the Harmful Digital Communications Act. Her alleged crime was making complaints about the deputy commissioner.

The review did not require contact with the woman, even though the organisation’s procedures dictate that the first step in investigating a claim of sexual assault is to interview the complainant.

The investigating officer was told to report to the executive rather than follow a normal chain of command. She told the IPCA she “really got the sense that [assistant commissioner A’s] focus was on getting this out of the way so [McSkimming] could apply for the Commissioner’s role without this hanging over his head”.

Failures at the top

Coster himself chaired two meetings in an attempt to exert influence over the investigation. He misled the Public Service Commission when queried about McSkimming’s suitability for the role, advising them there were “no current complaints relating to Jevon”.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell claims Coster’s office instructed ministerial staff to divert emails regarding McSkimming from him and his advisers.

This particular cover-up failed because of an unusual combination of heroism, politics and high idiocy. The detective inspector conducting the review refused to accept the directions of her senior leaders. Instead, she made contact with the complainant and determined her to be a credible victim rather than a harasser. She defied instructions to close the operation, escalating her objections to an officer outside the executive who then referred the case to the complaint authority, to the clear displeasure of their superiors.

Coster and his senior leadership team were well regarded by Labour but disliked by National. When Coster stood down after the change of government, he was replaced by Richard Chambers, a senior officer who’d previously been passed over for promotion in favour of pro-Coster candidates, a clique he clearly loathes, depriving McSkimming of any political cover when he came under suspicion.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Public Service Minister Judith Collins answer media questions following the release of the Independent Police Complaints Authority (IPCA) investigation regarding allegations of sexual misconduct by Jevon McSkimming. Photo / Getty Images

Finally, McSkimming himself – an executive who dedicated an unusual amount of his workday searching for bestiality porn – somehow lacked the wit to delete this material while being investigated for sexual misconduct in the midst of his application to become the country’s most senior police officer.

It’s been a terrible year for the police. In June, one of the Prime Minister’s press secretaries resigned after he was caught making audio recordings of sex workers. During this incident, his phone fell into the hands of a brothel, which notified the police – who neglected to alert the Beehive.

The same month, a review identified more than 100 police recruits who’d been allowed to start training despite failing fitness and language tests.

In August, the Waikato Times reported that 159 serving police officers have been charged with crimes in the past five years, including serious offences related to family violence and sexual offending. None have been sacked.

In October, it was revealed that more than 100 officers are under investigation for falsifying breath tests. Questions about the casual attitude towards apprehending Tom Phillips and rescuing his children remain unanswered.

Toxic culture

National has announced it will establish a permanent inspector-general of police with invasive powers to investigate allegations of misconduct. This is the correct policy response, but it should have happened years ago. In 2007, the Bazley report was released in the wake of Louise Nicolas’s allegations of sexual misconduct and corruption among police. It identified a toxic culture, indifference to the complaints of victims of sexual assault and evidence of cover-ups by the leadership. New processes and procedures were put in place. They appear to have been completely ignored by the executive.

The new commissioner has pledged to strengthen the police code of conduct. But this is an organisation that is famously insular and resistant to change.

National prides itself for being tough on law and order. Now it needs to get tough on the agency tasked with enforcing the law – which has never looked more disorderly.

SaveShare this article

Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Copy LinkEmailFacebookTwitter/XLinkedInReddit