This is edition 2025/206 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
1. Can we trust the NZ Police not to cover up their own crimes?
Bryce Edwards
- 💣 IPCA Bombshell Report — The Independent Police Conduct Authority exposed deep corruption in New Zealand’s police, prompting Judith Collins to condemn “a total lack of leadership and integrity at the highest level.”
- 🦆 “If it walks like a duck…” — Collins’ blunt words framed the scandal as undeniable corruption within senior police ranks.
- 🕳️ Culture of Misconduct — The crisis echoes past scandals like the McSkimming affair, revealing an entrenched institutional culture resistant to reform.
- ⚖️ Historic Failures Revisited — Wrongful convictions (Teina Pora, Arthur Allan Thomas) and mishandled sexual assault cases show a long-standing rot in police integrity.
- 🚨 Cover-up Pattern — From Bruce Hutton’s planted evidence to John Banks’ unprosecuted fraud case, leadership repeatedly shielded the powerful.
- 👮♂️ McSkimming’s Rise and Fall — Senior officer Jevon McSkimming exploited a young woman, was promoted despite warnings, and was later found with child exploitation material.
- 📩 Ignored Warnings — Over 300 emails and multiple social-media alerts about McSkimming were dismissed or buried by police leadership.
- 🧱 Victim Punished — Instead of investigating McSkimming, police charged his accuser, portraying her as the aggressor.
- 🫣 Commissioner Coster’s Role — Then-Commissioner Andrew Coster concealed knowledge of the affair, influenced the IPCA probe, and blocked political oversight.
- 🧑⚖️ Political Fallout — Police Minister Mark Mitchell and former PM Chris Hipkins claim they were kept in the dark; oversight mechanisms failed entirely.
- 🕵️♀️ New Oversight Office — Government to create an Inspector-General of Police with sweeping powers, admitting the old accountability system collapsed.
- 🍎 “Rotten Apple” Myth — Officials frame the scandal as isolated, but the IPCA found systemic misconduct across the top police executive.
- 🧪 Falsified Breath Tests — Concurrently, 120 officers are under investigation for falsifying over 30,000 breath tests—another integrity crisis.
- 🌳 Institutional Rot — Commentators argue the “tree” itself is rotten: the police must be rebuilt from the roots, not merely pruned.
- 💔 Erosion of Public Trust — Despite 69 percent trust ratings, confidence is crumbling as people see victims silenced and power protected.
- 🔄 Cycle of Failure — Decades after the Bazley Inquiry, the same patterns persist: protecting reputation over justice, senior officers over victims.
- 🔍 Integrity Institute Verdict — Dr Bryce Edwards concludes that until police culture prioritises accountability over self-protection, New Zealanders have every reason to remain sceptical.
