Police officers will soon have to deliver on four new targets intended to improve trust in police, increase satisfaction with officers’ service, resolve more retail crimes and reduce public violence.
It builds on police fulfilling the coalition Government’s desire to focus on frontline policing but also follows a scathing report condemning a litany of failures from senior police leaders concerning allegations former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming was a sexual predator.
Speaking to the Herald this morning, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers believed trust in police had improved in the past 12 months but conceded it could “take a hit” after the McSkimming scandal and other controversies.
Four new targets would be introduced early next year. They will be:
In March, police welcomed the latest Ministry of Justice Crime and Victims survey that found 69% of people had trust and confidence in police.
Chambers said the measure had “slipped back to its lowest ever” in recent years. He said service satisfaction levels were sitting at about 71%, according to internal police data.
Speaking on his one-year anniversary as commissioner, Chambers said he wanted the targets in place “early in the new year”.
While he was still considering a deadline, Chambers suggested they would be set at either 12 or 24 months.
“I don’t want anyone to be set up to fail, but what’s realistic for us to aspire to work real hard to achieve that.
“The intent behind them is to say these things matter, they’ll drive behaviours and tactics, which are consistent with the things that I’ve said from day one.”
The trust and confidence target would attract significant focus, given the number of controversies that had impacted police in the past year, punctuated by an Independent Police Conduct Authority report criticising former police executive members for mishandling allegations McSkimming was grooming a former police staffer with whom he was in a relationship.
McSkimming was also found to have used work devices to view objectionable publications, including child sexual exploitation and bestiality. It prompted audits of police devices, which has led to 17 police staff being investigated and compelled Chambers to audit internet usage of the most senior police leaders for the past 12 months.
It followed news of officers falsifying 30,000 alcohol breath tests and recruits being let into police college despite failing physical tests.
Chambers acknowledged the controversies were “a little unhelpful” and trust in police “could take a hit”, but he was encouraged by feedback he received concerning trust within police and from the public.
“Inevitably, they will take a hit, but putting those sorts of measures in place is also the right thing to do to ensure that corrective action is clear to all.”
Trust and confidence were key metrics for Chambers and a common phrase of his upon becoming commissioner as he endorsed the Government’s aim to strengthen police’s public presence.
Asked if he was frustrated by his central goal being undermined in his first year, Chambers shrugged.
“Oh, it comes with the territory. This job isn’t easy, it was never going to be easy.”
Becoming the country’s top cop started hard and fast for Chambers. He was first briefed on the McSkimming allegations two days before his role was publicly announced in November last year.
He then faced the loss of officer Lyn Fleming in Nelson on New Year’s Day.
Chambers said he had navigated more challenges than he had expected in his first year, noting the top job had sometimes drawn him away from the frontline.
“With other stuff going on, I’ve been drawn away from my role supporting them and backing them as much as I might like to, but you’ve just got to weather that storm and I’m hopeful that in 2026, with a new leadership team, that we can push forward and focus on supporting the frontline.”
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.