Jared Savage: NZ Herald investigative reporter on the police launching new protective measures after IPCA report on McSkimming

The Government says it is taking significant steps to improve police oversight after a damning IPCA report on the handling of complaints against former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming - before his recent trial.

Instead of investigating anonymous complaints accusing McSkimming of being a sexual predator, police prosecuted the woman for digital harassment. 

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says the watchdog report made appalling reading - and showed a clear lack of leadership and integrity at the highest level. 

Last week, McSkimming pleaded guilty to having child sexual exploitation and bestiality material on work devices

NZ Herald investigative reporter Jared Savage says the then-Commissioner, Andrew Coster, knew some details of the relationship. 

"Essentially, they've just accepted McSkimming's version of events, that this was an extra-marital affair that went wrong and this woman's out to get revenge."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
The IPCA report has just dropped. It's going to be
read by reporters who will tell us what's in it.
We have got some more information that has just come
out on geevmcskimming. It's been revealed that our highest ranking
police officers actually ignored anonymous allegations that Gevim mcskimming was
a sexual predator. The Herald investigative reporter Jared Savage is
with men ow Hey, Jared, Hi, Heather, Okay, how did

(00:20):
these warnings come to the police.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
So just a bit of background. Gem mcskimming, Deputy commissioner,
was in a sexual relationship with a much younger woman.
He was forty, she was twenty one. For whatever reason,
that relationship broke down and she started sending emails in
to the police and politicians and newsrooms essentially accusing him
of being a sexual predator, dreaming her things like that.

(00:47):
So lots of emails coming in, and instead of investigating
those emails, which we're kind of incoherent in some parts,
the police chose to instead prosecute her under the Harmful
Digital Communication z Act. So here's a woman sending an
email saying, hey, this person making serious allegations against the

(01:08):
second most powerful police officer in the country. Instead of
investigating those allegations, they prosecuted her with essentially digital harassment,
a campaign to discredit him before he applied for the
Commissioner of Police job last year, and it was all
completely suppressed and nobody knew about it until right.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Now because he was maintaining it was an effort to
undermine to end his career, Basically, wasn't it. Which point
did Andrew Costa, who was then the top cop, become
aware of it.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
We believe that Andrew Costa was aware of the existence
of the affair when he became the police commissioner. Jeevn
mcskimming disclosed that to him, but perhaps not all the
details around the age discrepancy and the fact that mc
skimming lady got her a job and the police essentially
they've just accepted mc skimming's version of a this was

(02:02):
an extra extra marital affair that went wrong and now
this woman's out to get revenge. There seems to be
a lack of action to actually investigate to see whether
or not there was some substance to these allegations, and
that didn't happen until after the Commissioner of other commission
of a police appointment took place sort of October November

(02:22):
last year.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Jared, the IPCA report has just dropped. One of the
things is this is what it says. When Police referred
the matter to the IPCA in October last year, the
then Commissioner Andrew Costa attempted to influence the nature and
extent of the investigation and the time frame for his completion.
These attempts were perceived by some others within Police as
designed to bring the investigation to a rapid and premature

(02:45):
conclusion so as not to intersect with the commissioner appointment
process and jeopardize Mcskimming's prospects of being appointed as the
next Commissioner of Police. Were you aware of that.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Yeah, that's sort of the gist of we were sort
of operating off sources for this initial Sorry that we dropped,
But to hear the IPCA say it in such dark
terms basically crystallizes the entire issue with what happened here.
It wasn't really about the substance of the allegations. It's
about how it's been handled. They've done it in a
way to protect mix Skimming. As he went ahead for

(03:17):
that top job and prevent essentially Richard Chambers from coming
and taking over. This is an astonishing This is an
astonishing IPCA report. I've never seen anything quite like it.
And the repercussions and that will float out of this
will carry on for some time.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah quite Jared, Thanks very much appreciated. Jared Savage, the
Herald's investigative reporter. There's this as well. In twenty twenty three,
while a member of the interview panel for the Statutory
Deputy Commision appointment process, Andrew Costa failed to disclose to
the Public Service Commission his knowledge of GeV MCX Skimming's relationship,
which had subsequently led to the email's alleging this conduct.

(03:54):
This failure clearly fell below what a reasonable person would
have expected of a person in his position. Consequently, Andrew
Costa's disclosure to the Public Service Commission on eight October
last year during the Interim Commissioner appointment process also fell
well short of what a reasonable person would have expected
given what he knew at the time. I would Yeah,
I'm going to really enjoy seeing whether Andrew Costa actually

(04:14):
survives this or not, because this is undermining him in
a big way I would have thought. For more from
Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks.

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