A series of emails from the police's director of integrity and conduct have been released revealing the extent of her concerns about complaints made about disgraced former deputy police commissioner Jevon McSkimming.
By Sam Sherwood of RNZ
In November, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) released a scathing report into how police handled allegations of sexual offending by McSkimming relating to a woman he had an affair with.
After the report was released, RNZ requested information relating to correspondence regarding the IPCA report into police's handling of complaints regarding McSkimming under the Official Information Act.
On Thursday, RNZ received more than 200 pages of documents in relation to the request.
The documents include correspondence from Detective Superintendent Kylie Schaare, the director of Integrity and Conduct.
The woman McSkimming had an affair with, referred to in the report as Ms Z, was charged in May 2024 with causing harm by posting digital communication in relation to more than 300 emails she allegedly sent to McSkimming's work email address between December 2023 and April 2024. The emails included abusive and derogatory language directed towards McSkimming and other people.
It wasn't until about a month after Ms Z, a former unsworn staffer, was charged that former Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura decided police should explore whether any of the allegations in the emails were legitimate.
On July 10, 2024, Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves called the IPCA and said she had been assigned to investigate Ms Z's allegations.
On August 14, 2024, Schaare received an email from the IPCA.
The email, released on Thursday, refers to Ms Z's complaint and that Reeves was investigating the matter.
"To date we have not received a referral. We are concerned that there appears to be a conduct investigation being conducted outside agreed protocols.
"I am raising this with you in the first instance in the hope that you may be able to shed some light on what is going on here."
Schaare appears to have then forwarded the email to the then deputy commissioner of people, leadership and culture, Chris de Wattignar.
She said the complaints had not progressed through police's usual complaint process.
"I am not aware that we have ever spoken to the complainant, as we would in the normal course of events of this nature, particularly given how long ago it has been that this information has come to light.
"We do appear to have bypassed our usual complaint processes for quite some time and if there is an investigation of any sort occurring, it hasn't been discussed with Integrity and Conduct, followed agreed process, nor is it noted in our system as would be expected, to enable a notification to IPCA."
Schaare said the IPCA wanted notification as to what was occurring and why it had not come through Integrity and Conduct.
De Wattignar replied that he had spoken to then Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura and that it "does not seem to be as it was relayed".
"Evidently the investigation is into the complainant, who has been charged."
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Schaare replied she was concerned that it was only an investigation into the complainant.
"I can't see and I acknowledge there may well be information I am not privy to, that Police has ever conducted an investigation (following ASA [Adult Sexual Assault] guidelines) into the multiple ongoing complaints, which would usually include a pre-liminary interview, level 3 interview and referral for crisis support as a minimum.
"I understand she has now been criminally charged and I see a potential reputational risk should this charge be defended, if a criminal defence lawyer airs and highlights that she has tried multiple times over a lengthy period to make a complaint and Police hasn't treated her like we would any other victim raising similar concerns, followed our complaints procedures and done a thorough investigation to either corroborate her complaints or exonerate the person she is complaining about."
Then, on October 10, 2024 Schaare received an email from IPCA Chair Judge Kenneth Johnston KC.
The email said the authority had recently been contacted by the Public Service Commission who were seeking confirmation that they did not have any open investigations relating to McSkimming.
"The Authority is reluctant to confirm the status of any investigations opened or closed relating to Deputy Commissioner McSkimming until such time as we have had full opportunity to review all material available to Police.
"With the above in mind, I am requesting that Police refer any complaint relating to the conduct of Deputy Commissioner McSkimming to the Authority… as a matter of urgency so we can make an assessment of the available information and determine, whether to conduct an independent investigation."
Four days later, another letter arrived from the IPCA telling Schaare the matter had been classified as a Category A investigation.
Schaare forwarded the email to de Wattignar who then sent it to former police commissioner Andrew Coster.
Coster emailed de Wattignar saying he was keen to understand what material had been provided to the IPCA the prior week and how the request had come about.
"Speaking to the Judge, he seemed to be of the view that there was something we should have shared with them earlier but didn't."
De Wattignar told Coster that Integrity and Conduct "are a bit challenged" as "the review has been conducted outside of the regular process somewhat".
The IPCA said Schaare raised her concerns both within her own internal chain of command and with the IPCA from an early stage.
"When she felt her concerns were not being heeded, she sought our support in elevating the matter. We commend her moral courage."
The IPCA said had it not been for Schaare's actions it was "conceivable that Ms Z's complaint may never have been heard, and the IPCA may never have been made aware of the concerning developments during 2024".
The IPCA report said Schaare told the IPCA that on 16 September 2024, she received a call from then police commissioner Andrew Coster asking if she knew of any "open investigations" into McSkimming.
She believed the call was prompted by McSkimming's application for commissioner. She told Coster she would check the NZ Police Professional Conduct database.
She told the IPCA she saw a "huge organisational risk" that there was something "sitting outside our system".
"... It didn't appear that we'd actually dealt with that at all following our usual process, and that I was now aware that the woman had been arrested, pleaded not guilty and I said 'look, with…my legal experience…any defence lawyer worth their salt is going to say that…this woman has acted the way she has because she's been trying to raise these concerns for a significant period of time against Police and no one's listened to her and no one's followed usual process' so I said: 'That's all going to come out…That's a matter of risk to the police, it's a risk to you as Commissioner".
Following the call she texted Coster and said there were no "open complaints" that were visible in the database.
"The complaints re the woman that you've referenced have not been through our usual complaint processes though, and there is no record of the complaints or what has been done re them. I do see this as a risk to the New Zealand Police and Jevon, particularly if this issue arises again down the track."
She suggested the information around the complaint and what had been done was provided to either her or the Operations Manager of Integrity and Conduct to record in the database.
"I am conscious with a not guilty plea entered on the charges the woman is facing, the complaints could come to light through the court process as part of the defence disclosure request or the woman may complain again in the future, particularly if Jevon is in the media. It would open up criticism if there is nothing recorded in the usual manner following our complaint processes. IPCA are also asking why this has bypassed our usual complaint processes. They were going to contact Tania directly to discuss."
Coster replied he understood from Kura's briefing that the "intent" was to record it as Schaare suggested but was "unsure why this has not yet occurred".
"To be clear, I don't think there was ever a complaint. The woman never identified herself to us. However, through Jevon's transparency on it we knew who she was and proactively approached her. However, there was still no complaint forthcoming to back up her various email allegations sent from a variety of email addresses with made-up names. I appreciate your follow up on that."
Following the IPCA's report Coster resigned as chief executive of the Social Investment Agency and former deputy commissioner Chris de Wattignar quit as the Upper North head of aviation security at the Civil Aviation Authority.
The executive director of the Firearms Safety Authority Angela Brazier also retired two months after the report was released.
Former deputy commissioner Tania Kura and former assistant commissioner Paul Basham both retired ahead of the report being released.
McSkimming pleaded guilty in November to three representative charges of possessing objectionable publications, namely child sexual exploitation and bestiality material and was sentenced to nine months home detention.
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