Watchdog slams police handling of complaints about former top cop Jevon McSkimming
Tuesday, 11 November 2025
The police’s independent watchdog has released its bombshell report into the handling of serious complaints made against now disgraced cop Jevon McSkimming and has found there were “serious failings” by “very senior officers”.
They include former Commissioner Andrew Coster and former Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura. Coster has been approached for comment.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) opened an investigation into allegations of misconduct by the former deputy police commissioner in May.
Last week, McSkimming pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing child sexual exploitation and bestiality material in the Wellington District Court. Five other charges were withdrawn.
On Tuesday evening, the IPCA released its 135 page-long report, finding significant failings in the way senior police responded to serious complaints made against McSkimming in 2023 and early 2024.
The allegations included sexual interaction without consent, threats to use an intimate visual recording and misuse of a police credit card and police property to further a sexual relationship.
Some of the complaints alleged criminal conduct, while others alleged behaviour constituting a potential breach of the Police Code of Conduct.
The IPCA said the allegation arose from a sexual relationship between the complainant and McSkimming that developed in 2016. The complainant was 21 at the time while McSkimming was 40.
Complaints were emailed but also a comment was posted on a Police LinkedIn announcement that McSkimming had been appointed a statutory Deputy Commissioned in April 2023. Three complaints were also made through the Police 105 online portal in April 2024. The IPCA said it was clear it does not make any findings as to the truth of the allegations.
The IPCA said the response to the complaints was characterised by inaction and an “unquestioning acceptance of Mr McSkimming’s narrative of events”.
The IPCA said there was no evidence of collusion between officers, but there was “serious misconduct” by a number of “very senior officers” and other senior employees that undermined the integrity of the organisation as a whole.
The IPCA was also tasked with determining whether there had been misconduct or negligence of duty by any other police officer or employee in the course of responding to the allegations about McSkimming.
The relationship
In 2015, McSkimming, who was then a Superintendent, met the complainant - known as Ms Z in the report - through a sporting club.
The personal relationship began in February 2016 and what started as platonic, turned into a sexual relationship in about April or May.
“Each party gives a markedly different account of the nature of the relationship, the report said.
After the relationship ended, sometime after 2018, Ms Z began sending emails to McSkimming and others, making accusations about his conduct. The emails increased in number and distribution between December 2023 and January 2024.
Given the number and nature of the emails, with concern for McSkimming, in early January 2024 Coster directed Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura to seek the input of the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC), as well as consider mental health support for the writer.
Ms Z was charged under the Harmful Digital Communications Act - a charge that was later withdrawn.
In mid 2024, a senior investigator (Officer D) conducted a review to see if any steps needed to be taken to establish the veracity of the allegations in the emails.
A criminal investigation was also conducted into Ms Z’s complaints of rape, sexual violation and indecent assault.
After forensic interviews in November 2024, the investigation found there was insufficient evidence to establish the offences to the criminal standard beyond reasonable doubt.
In the IPCA findings, the report said the failure of senior officers to take any steps to investigate Ms Z’s allegations led to her prosecution “well before anyone had turned their mind to whether the allegations might be true, and whether that might have an impact on whether it was in the public interest to prosecute her”.
Police “completely failed” to consider the allegations.
“Had Police investigated and found, even on the balance of probabilities, that Ms Z might have been the victim of, for example, grooming, threats, or possible sexual assault by a senior Police officer, and this information relayed to the Ms Z investigation team, this would have been highly relevant to whether the public interest test in the Prosecution Guidelines was met and, in the event of a conviction, what the appropriate disposition or sentence might be.”
In the original summary of facts, the allegations were labelled as false.
The IPCA said the entire process was conducted outside normal Integrity and Conduct channels. A detective inspector reported directly to the assistant commissioner, whose view was that the investigation needed to be conducted carefully so as not to further victimise the Deputy Commissioner nor damge his chances of becoming the next Commissioner.
“That concern not to damage Deputy Commissioner McSkimming’s chances of becoming Commissioner continued to colour the approach of senior officers from around October 2024…”
The findings
No effective action was taken to investigate the comment on the LinkedIn announcement.
A report by the joint Police/Health Fixated Threat Assessment Centre in February 2024 identified the fact that potential criminal and Police Code of Conduct concerns relating to McSkimming were being alleged in the emails and suggested referral to the Police National Integrity Unit and the IPCA with a view to possible investigation. However, the Deputy Commissioner and the Acting Assistant Commissioner (Investigations) to whom this recommendation was directed took no action. Instead, the only investigation that was launched focused on potential offences by the complainant under the Harmful Digital Communications Act, leading to her prosecution.
The complaints to the Police 105 reporting line were not immediately acted on and not notified to the IPCA as is required by statute and by agreed processes between Police and the IPCA. There was an unacceptable delay in initiating an investigation, which effectively did not commence until July 2024. When the complaints were eventually referred for a preliminary investigation, the terms of reference were inappropriately worded and did not comply with Adult Sexual Assault Policy.
When Police referred the matter to the IPCA in October 2024 then-Commissioner Coster attempted to influence the nature and extent of the investigation and the timeframe for its completion. Those attempts were perceived by some others within Police as designed to bring the investigation to a rapid and premature conclusion so as not to intersect with the Commissioner appointment process and jeopardise Mr McSkimming’s prospects of being appointed as the next Commissioner of Police, notwithstanding the seriousness of the allegations being made.
In 2023, while a member of the interview panel for the statutory Deputy Commissioner appointment process, Commissioner Coster failed to disclose to the Public Service Commission his knowledge of Deputy McSkimming’s relationship which had subsequently led to the emails alleging misconduct. This failure clearly fell below what a reasonable person would have expected of a person in his position. Subsequently, Commissioner Coster’s disclosure to the Public Service Commission on 8 October 2024, 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.
Fundamental recommendations for change
More specific recognition of who is responsible for the protection of integrity at senior management level;
A revamp of Police internal policies and programmes to promote positive culture around integrity issues and ethical behaviour;
Changes to the Integrity and Conduct Unit within Police to enable it to play a stronger and more independent role and more effectively to act against poor behaviour when it arises;
Legislative and structural changes to enable more robust criminal and employment processes and outcomes in relation to alleged misconduct by Police officers;
A strengthening of the IPCA’s oversight role; and
Enhanced Ministerial and Parliamentary oversight.
The rise and fall of Jevon McSkimming
In May, Police Minister Mark Mitchell announced McSkimming had resigned before he could be dismissed “after allegations of a very serious nature recently came to light”.
McSkimming was subsequently arrested and charged with eight charges of possessing objectionable material, including images that depict child sexual exploitation and bestiality, spanning from July 2020 to December 2024.
A summary of the objectionable material offences that McSkimming pleaded guilty to said that when he found out his internet use was being investigated in March, he spoke to two colleagues, telling one that pornography would be found on his laptop.
“He said that he had found a way around the normal Police systems to look at porn and that he grew up in a house where pornography was normal,” the summary said.
“He also spoke with another colleague and said that over the years he had needed different types of pornography to make him feel anything and it just kept escalating.”
Stuff previously reported that concerns about McSkimming finally exploded in the crucial two weeks after he was interviewed for the role of police commissioner in October of last year, alongside rival Richard Chambers.
During the process, extensive integrity checks on Chambers and McSkimming were carried out, which led to the discovery of the alleged objectionable material on McSkimming’s work devices.
Before he was charged, McSkimming went to the High Court seeking a “super injunction” - to prevent media reporting the nature of the material found on his work devices. That order was overturned.
An independent review into the use of police technology - initiated by Police Commissioner Richard Chambers in the wake of McSkimming’s resignation - has also subsequently found the current systems were “inconsistent”, “inadequate” and “insufficient”.