PoO recalled who was involved in the appointment process, when we noticed the RNZ headline that said:
Hipkins calls for more robust vetting after it failed to identify McSkimming’s behaviour
The Labour leader says it is “unacceptable” that former Former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming’s behaviour was not picked up in vetting for the role.
McSkimming pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual exploitation and bestiality material.
McSkimming performed Google searches on his police devices, primarily his work cellphone, to access pornographic and objectionable publications, over the course of four and a half years.
Then comes the awkward bit of the story for the Leader of the Opposition:
As prime minister- Chris Hipkins appointed McSkimming to the Deputy Police Commissioner role in 2023, following a recommendation from the then-Deputy Public Service Commissioner.
That’s not exactly what Hipkins did, according to a Police media statement at the time of the appointment.
The Governor-General appoints the statutory deputy on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Public Services Commissioner manages the appointment process.
Whether he appointed or recommended, he is now saying (and few are likely to disagree) that McSkimming’s behaviour was unacceptable.
But he hopes we will accept that his recommendation was based on inadequate vetting.
“I can say absolutely that with the advice that we were given in Jevon McSkimming’s appointment to the Deputy Police Commissioner role, none of this was identified during that process, and there was a vetting process that was undertaken there,” Hipkins said.
“The fact that there was vetting and it didn’t highlight this shows that the vetting was clearly inadequate.“
But look at what was happening in the cop shop while Labour was running the show:
In late 2020, police made the decision that six-monthly internet usage monitoring reports, supplied to the senior leadership team, would cease. The summary of facts said McSkimming would have been aware of the change.
McSkimming’s first recorded search took place on 1 July 2020, with the last on 18 December 2024.
In total, there were 5354 searches, around a third of which were adult or pornographic.
A total of 2954 objectionable images were returned from 432 searches that were intended or were “highly likely” to return objectionable images.
Hipkins said it was a “shocking revelation” that McSkimming was using police equipment resources to view the material, and that it went undetected for so long.
“This was going on for four or five years, and it seemed to go below the radar within the police. That shouldn’t have been allowed to happen, so I think there’s a real tightening up that’s needed here.”
McSkimming was appointed a statutory Deputy Commissioner in April, 2023.
In the Police media statement on April 11 which announced this, Andrew Coster – Police Commissioner at that time – welcomed the appointments of McSkimming and Tania Kura.
Both already held deputy commissioner rank as internal appointments.
The statutory deputy role is an important one within Police’s constitutional framework. It includes a safeguard for the independence of the office holders.
If the Commissioner is incapacitated, one of the statutory deputies will assume office, until an acting commissioner is formally appointed.
According to Police statement, both appointees had wide ranging and complementary policing experience and expertise, and had been “instrumental leaders on the Police Executive for the past three years”
“Both Deputies lead by example and bring a positive culture to Police that enables our people to perform, and I look forward to their continued service to help prevent crime and harm in our communities.”
This is the statement which said the Governor-General appoints the statutory deputy on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Public Services Commissioner manages the appointment process.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
McSkimming pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual exploitation and bestiality material.
McSkimming performed Google searches on his police devices, primarily his work cellphone, to access pornographic and objectionable publications, over the course of four and a half years.
Then comes the awkward bit of the story for the Leader of the Opposition:
As prime minister- Chris Hipkins appointed McSkimming to the Deputy Police Commissioner role in 2023, following a recommendation from the then-Deputy Public Service Commissioner.
That’s not exactly what Hipkins did, according to a Police media statement at the time of the appointment.
The Governor-General appoints the statutory deputy on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Public Services Commissioner manages the appointment process.
Whether he appointed or recommended, he is now saying (and few are likely to disagree) that McSkimming’s behaviour was unacceptable.
But he hopes we will accept that his recommendation was based on inadequate vetting.
“I can say absolutely that with the advice that we were given in Jevon McSkimming’s appointment to the Deputy Police Commissioner role, none of this was identified during that process, and there was a vetting process that was undertaken there,” Hipkins said.
“The fact that there was vetting and it didn’t highlight this shows that the vetting was clearly inadequate.“
But look at what was happening in the cop shop while Labour was running the show:
In late 2020, police made the decision that six-monthly internet usage monitoring reports, supplied to the senior leadership team, would cease. The summary of facts said McSkimming would have been aware of the change.
McSkimming’s first recorded search took place on 1 July 2020, with the last on 18 December 2024.
In total, there were 5354 searches, around a third of which were adult or pornographic.
A total of 2954 objectionable images were returned from 432 searches that were intended or were “highly likely” to return objectionable images.
Hipkins said it was a “shocking revelation” that McSkimming was using police equipment resources to view the material, and that it went undetected for so long.
“This was going on for four or five years, and it seemed to go below the radar within the police. That shouldn’t have been allowed to happen, so I think there’s a real tightening up that’s needed here.”
McSkimming was appointed a statutory Deputy Commissioner in April, 2023.
In the Police media statement on April 11 which announced this, Andrew Coster – Police Commissioner at that time – welcomed the appointments of McSkimming and Tania Kura.
Both already held deputy commissioner rank as internal appointments.
The statutory deputy role is an important one within Police’s constitutional framework. It includes a safeguard for the independence of the office holders.
If the Commissioner is incapacitated, one of the statutory deputies will assume office, until an acting commissioner is formally appointed.
According to Police statement, both appointees had wide ranging and complementary policing experience and expertise, and had been “instrumental leaders on the Police Executive for the past three years”
“Both Deputies lead by example and bring a positive culture to Police that enables our people to perform, and I look forward to their continued service to help prevent crime and harm in our communities.”
This is the statement which said the Governor-General appoints the statutory deputy on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Public Services Commissioner manages the appointment process.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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