After McSkimming, police must rebuild systems for tackling sexual violence

Thursday, 20 November 2025

Disgraced former police boss Jevon McSkimming, whose behaviour while in the force has left it shaken and, Russell Smith argues, with an urgent rebuilding job to do.

Russell Smith is co-founder and co-director of Korowai Tūmanako, a sexual violence prevention agency from Tāmaki Makaurau, and has extensive experience in the area including working with police..

OPINION: The IPCA report on allegations against former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming is deeply disturbing, though sadly not surprising. For survivors of sexual violence, confidence in the police is everything.

Yet when complaints reach the highest levels and are ignored or actively suppressed, that confidence is shattered. The courage it takes to come forward is immense, and the consequences can be devastating.

This case exposes a system struggling to police itself. Hierarchical organisations like the police reward loyalty and conformity. When that culture intersects with self-monitoring, accountability often fails.

Officers who attempt to act appropriately cannot, on their own, compensate for a system that too often protects its own. For survivors, this creates a chilling effect: reporting sexual violence is already difficult, and seeing senior officers shielded erodes trust in the entire process.

Police systems for supporting survivors of sexual violence have frayed over the years, and the McSkimming case has shattered trust, argues Russell Smith. (Stock image posed by models.)

Training and education on sexual violence within the police have diminished over the years. Once, agencies and officers worked closely with community specialists to embed knowledge, cultural awareness, and trauma-informed approaches.

Today, those connections have frayed. Prevention and intervention expertise is under-resourced, leaving survivors and their whānau without guidance and support. This is not a minor oversight; it is a structural failure that multiplies harm across communities.

We have been here before. The Bazley report, commissioned over a decade ago, exposed serious shortcomings in how state institutions, including the police, responded to sexual violence. Its recommendations were clear, yet too many remain unimplemented. The McSkimming case is a stark reminder that without sustained reform, history repeats itself and survivors continue to pay the price.

Russell Smith is co-founder and co-director of Korowai Tūmanako, a sexual violence prevention agency from Tāmaki Makaurau, and has extensive experience in the area including working with police.

Rebuilding trust requires urgent, systemic reform. Independent oversight is essential. Community-led specialists must monitor how sexual violence complaints are handled internally, working alongside police sexual assault teams to ensure proper procedure and accountability.

Survivors need a dedicated helpline for state-related abuse, including within the police, providing safe access to support without fear of reprisal. Cultural reviews across state services are necessary to address under-reporting and the barriers faced by Māori and Pacific communities.

Concurrently with the IPCA fallout, our sexual violence sector faces government funding cuts that deepen the crisis. Every dollar withdrawn undermines prevention, limits engagement with survivors, and reduces opportunities for recovery.

Government and police must invest in sustained training, education and community partnerships to ensure sexual violence is treated with the seriousness it demands at every level.

This is a moment of reckoning. The McSkimming case demonstrates what can go wrong when organisational culture prioritises protecting the powerful over caring for the vulnerable. Reform is not optional, it is essential.

For survivors, the question is clear: will the system protect them, or continue to fail them? Until structural change is implemented, trust remains broken, faith is faltering and public confidence will have been severely knocked.