Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says he believes they can achieve 80% trust in police. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says he believes they can achieve 80% trust in police. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Police Commissioner says the McSkimming case fallout will not impact Kiwis’ trust in the force despite the police association boss claiming almost all frontline staff are now routinely dealing with public ridicule.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking they are spending “far too much time” onthe case when he could be focusing on trying to increase trust in police.
The fallout began after a bombshell report detailing a litany of failures from senior police leaders concerning allegations that former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming was a sexual predator.
Chambers said he had heard from “communities” that people accept this “comes down to a group of former leaders of New Zealand Police, not the 15,000 outstanding men and women who do a great job day and night”.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said he believes Kiwis understand only a handful of top police were involved in the scandal. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The targets also addressed increased satisfaction with officers’ service, resolving more retail crimes and reducing public violence.
He said the 80% figure was aspirational but not impossible because we have been at that level in years past.
Chambers claimed that trust had improved over the past 12 months and did not speak on what he thought the figure may have risen or dropped to following the McSkimming scandal.
Meanwhile, Police Association President Steve Watt said he was trying to help the frontline staff suffering from the fallout of the case.
He said that beat cops, 501 operators and almost all members of police staff were dealing with taunts and ridicule because of the McSkimming scandal.
He told Newstalk ZB’s Ryan Bridge that they were doing it “pretty tough”.
“They’re facing ridicule from the public as a result of what’s happened in the McSkimming case and that’s really tough on the membership.
When asked what type of ridicule they were receiving, Watts said they were getting “taunts and all sorts of stuff”.
“So a focus has to be on them and building that trust and focus on building the relationships between the executive and the constabulary employees if we’re going to have any chance of hitting these targets.”
Former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming. Photo / Mark Miitchell
The trust and confidence in the police have been put under a microscope in the latter half of this year, given the number of controversies surrounding the force.
