An inspector general of police will be appointed in New Zealand. The position is new. This was recently decided by the government of conservative Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, due to a major scandal in the country’s law enforcement agencies. The Independent Police Ethics Authority (IPCA) published a 135-page report on Tuesday, November 11, detailing allegations of rape and sexual assault targeting Jevon McSkimming, the agency’s former deputy head of the Oceania islands.
This is also revealing “significant gap” in how to handle complaints against him. Serious dysfunction was evident in the decision-making, judgment and actions of the police, including those of former leaders, which was primarily characterized by the inaction and action taken by the police. “unreserved acceptance of the account of events presented by Mr. McSkimming”.
Behind the complaints referred to in the report is a sexual relationship that allegedly began in 2016 between Jevon McSkimming, then 40, and “Mrs. Z,” a 21-year-old non-sworn police employee at the time of the incident, who is not named in the report. Their relationship reportedly ended in 2018. Jevon McSkimming then told his superiors about their affair and told them about the threats and blackmail that he claimed to suffer from “Ms.
Beginning in 2018, the plaintiff allegedly sent hundreds of emails to Jevon McSkimming and other law enforcement personnel, posted numerous messages on social media, and filed a complaint with a police hotline, detailing her allegations against the senior officer, including non-consensual sexual relations and threats to make intimate video recordings public.
The report concluded that then police boss Andrew Coster – serving until November 2024 before leading a government agency –, “attempting to influence the nature and extent of the investigation” internal. He will also hide what he knows about allegations targeting his right-hand man during the process of selecting his successor as head of the agency… who is expected to be Jevon McSkimming.
The impact now extends to the political level. Following the publication of the report, Andrew Coster was recently dismissed from his position as director of the Social Investment Agency. “This is terrible on all levels”This Wednesday, Police Minister Mark Mitchell admitted to the microphone of the RNZ television channel. But New Zealand Herald wonder “How could the Minister of Police ignore the existence of this email?”. And what’s more, “Is the Prime Minister aware?” became the headline of a nationally circulated newspaper.
The current police boss, Richard Chambers, described the actions and attitudes described in the document as follows“unforgivable” and apologize to the victim. “A senior police officer’s ambitions are placed above the interests of vulnerable women,” he snapped. In this case, the appointment of an inspector general should help ensure that the New Zealand police follow appropriate procedures and help restore public confidence in the police.
Because the McSkimming business doesn’t stop there. The former number 2 in the New Zealand police on November 5 at a Wellington court admitted to having child pornography and zoophilic documents stored on his professional devices. He was arrested and charged in June with eight counts of possessing indecent material, and admitted to three of them. One of the indictments states that the offenses were committed between July 2020 and December 2024.
Jevon McSkimming was suspended from his duties with fixed pay in December 2024 during the opening of the investigation. He was absent for six months before resigning in May. A decision will be handed down in December.
