Who knew what and when?

Stuff has a very good article on the issues around former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevan McSkimming. It doesn’t cover everything, as some issues are before the courts, but there is one part I want to highlight:

More than 20 months earlier, in February 2023, a Stuff reporter received an email containing explicit allegations about McSkimming. It was the kind of thing that often drops into journalists’ inboxes, and usually lies somewhere between bluster and bullshit.

The emails about McSkimming continued throughout 2023, with further concerning allegations, but little proof that would sustain a story.

The things suggested could scarcely be immune to office whispers and gossip.

In that time, however, McSkimming’s star continued to rise.

On March 28, 2023, six weeks after allegations against McSkimming reached Stuff, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins accepted advice from officials that McSkimming was a “fit and proper” person, that he was “honest and trustworthy”, and should be appointed deputy commissioner.

Here is the question I have. If the person making allegations against McSkimming had taken them to the media six weeks before Hipkins appointed him Deputy Police Commissioner, is it plausible that these allegations were not known to anyone at Police National HQ?

Who knew at Police HQ? Did they investigate? Did they inform the PSC? Did they inform the then Prime Minister? Did they inform the IPCA?

Hipkins has insisted there were no red flags regarding McSkimming.

And the only hint of concern can be found in a letter from Hipkins’ office to the Cabinet Appointment and Honours Committee.

“Deputy Commissioner McSkimming,” it begins, before the remainder of the sentence is redacted from the document that was publicly released.

It then goes on to say: “This is not seen as an impediment to Deputy Commissioner McSkimming’s appointment.”

If the redacted section doesn’t relate to these allegations, then why not state that explicitly?

I find it hard to believe that if someone is e-mailing the media about him, that their allegations were not known to some in the Police hierarchy. Now they may not have thought them credible, but they should have investigated.

I suspect once the criminal aspects of this are dealt with (as that must take priority) there will be a need for a public inquiry into who knew what, and when.