They still don’t get it

The Herald reports:

Two senior police leaders visited disgraced former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming for the purpose of a welfare check because he was distressed and his wife was “incredibly distraught”, sources have told the Herald.

There was an official welfare contact appointed by the Police. They were not it.

Former deputy commissioner Tania Kura and another current leader visited McSkimming after he was charged over possessing objectionable material but before he admitted the offending in court.

This is the key aspect – it was after he was charged. What signal do they think it sends to junior police (who made the decision to arrest and charge) when they see their superiors visiting the person they have charged?

A police source said the pair’s decision to visit McSkimming was at the request of his wife and not unusual given the circumstances.

“Tania and [the other leader] visited him strictly as a welfare check – something they’ve both done many times for staff in serious strife. They would have done the same for Commissioner Richard Chambers if it were him, or for any other staff member,” the source told the Herald.

There is a difference between strife and having been criminally charged. It is disturbing they can’t see it.

However, Chambers has been highly critical of Kura and the other officer, telling Herald NOW when he found out about the visit he expressed “huge disappointment” in the pair’s actions.

“Lack of judgment, poor decision making. I addressed it with former Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura and one other member of the senior leadership team,” he said.

He said when a person is facing serious criminal charges it “wasn’t wise for any member of police to visit”, and he didn’t think there was any legitimate reason why Kura would do so.

The sensible thing for Kura to have done would have been to discuss the fact she had been contacted by McSkimming’s wife with the Commissioner and seek guidance as to what they should do.

The IPCA’s report said Kura assumed any problematic matters regarding McSkimming would have been flushed out during the top-secret security vettingboth she and McSkimming had to go through prior to getting their roles.

The job of the Police is to investigate, not to assume.