Christopher Luxon answers a question on the resignation of the Police Deputy Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner of Police Jevon McSkimming resigned after pornographic material was allegedly found on his work computer, the Herald understands.
McSkimming had been suspended since December and was under investigation for a separate matter.
Former Police Minister Stuart Nash described McSkimming as competent and was surprised by the allegations.
Former Police Minister Stuart Nash has expressed surprise at the resignation of the second most powerful police officer in the country - describing Jevon McSkimming as a “good man” who displayed no issues before his appointment under the previous Labour Government.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Jevon McSkimming resigned yesterday after pornographic material was allegedly found on his work computer, the Herald understands.
McSkimming had already been suspended on full pay since December while under criminal investigation by the police, and the Independent Police Conduct Authority, on allegations related to a separate matter – details of which can’t be reported.
Nash was Police Minister until a few weeks before McSkimming was promoted to Deputy Commissioner in April 2023 on the recommendation of then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, and following a Public Service Commission selection process.
“I knew Jevon very well … if you’ve been in the police 30 years and you’ve risen to the rank that he has, you’ve impressed some very good, very competent, very capable people over the time”, Nash told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast.
“And he rose almost to the top, so he’s a good man.”
Former Police Minister Stuart Nash 'will be shocked' if resigned deputy police commissioner Jevon McSkimming is found to have broken the law. An investigation into McSkimming is ongoing. Photo / Warren Buckland
Nash himself resigned as Police Minister in March 2023 over comments he made – also to Hosking – that he’d once called Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to discuss a sentence of home detention given to a Southland farmer for illegal firearms.
Background checks before appointment to a role as senior as deputy commissioner were “pretty deep” and “nothing at all” had come up that caused concern before McSkimming’s appointment, Nash said.
He didn’t know details of the initial allegations against McSkimming, Nash told Hosking this morning.
“I can talk to you about the man I knew. He was competent, he was capable, he was respectful and, you know, an overall good bloke.
“[If he’s broken the law] I will be shocked … all the way through his career progression, there will have been checks and balances in place to ensure this guy was suitable for the next level of police, and over 30 years he’s passed every single one of those.”
He was perplexed by news reports indicating McSkimming resigned after porn was allegedly found on his work computer.
“[That’s] the thing I don’t quite understand if I’m brutally honest … every bloke listening to this show knows there are ways to watch porn without watching on your work computer.
“So I struggle with that, because Jevon was a really smart guy, and watching porn on your work computer’s a pretty dumb thing to do.”
Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, who has resigned, graduated Police College in 1996. Photo / Mark Mitchell
In January, McSkimming’s lawyers said he was co-operating with the police and expected to “resume his duties” after being cleared by the investigation into the original complaint.
But yesterday, Police Minister Mark Mitchell announced McSkimming had resigned before he was potentially removed from the role.
Mitchell didn’t reveal the nature of the new allegations, but multiple sources told the Herald that detectives investigating the original complaint against McSkimming allegedly discovered pornographic material on one of his electronic work devices.
The alleged pornographic material was not relevant to the original complaint, but sources believed it was evidence to start a new, separate employment case against the Deputy Commissioner.
McSkimming then resigned after the alleged discovery of pornographic material was disclosed to him last week, the Herald understands.
One of the top candidates to replace Andrew Coster as the Commissioner of Police in late 2024, McSkimming graduated from Police College in 1996 and spent the first 10 years of his career in frontline roles in Auckland, Southland and the West Coast before moving into leadership roles.
