Police are investigating around 20 cases of alleged misuse and inappropriate content on work-issued devices following a sweeping review triggered by the Jevon McSkimming scandal.
McSkimming, then deputy commissioner, was found with objectionable material on his police-issued devices in June. He has pleaded guilty to charges of possessing child exploitation and bestiality images and will be sentenced next month.
The revelations prompted Police Commissioner Richard Chambers to order a rapid review of security settings in June.
That review found weaknesses in monitoring and governance and recommended urgent changes to prevent staff accessing harmful content on police devices.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers today confirmed to 1News that “about 20” cases identified through new audits were now being progressed.
“Employment processes are underway in some of these cases while others are still at the preliminary stages of investigation,” she said.
Rogers did not rule out criminal charges, adding: “We can assure the public appropriate action will be taken in every case and cannot rule out charges if the Solicitor-General’s guidelines for prosecution are met.”
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers earlier told 1News police would “act swiftly” on staff accessing inappropriate material.
“If they fall below expectations and potentially the law, then we will act on those.”
Chambers said he was personally upset by the findings and questioned how officers had time to engage in misconduct.
“We deal with demand day and night, that’s often hard to keep up with. To think that people would have time to be doing things on devices that fall below standards, potentially the law – I just can’t understand that, and we’ll deal with that.”
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) last week released a damning report into how police handled complaints about McSkimming. It found significant failings, including missed opportunities to detect his offending earlier. When police finally investigated, they discovered he had repeatedly accessed objectionable material using work devices..
The review identified weaknesses in internet access controls, a lack of visibility over staff activity, and “blind spots” in governance.
Police adopted a remediation plan with 26 actions to be implemented by December, including random audits and targeted monitoring to detect attempts to access harmful content.
The IPCA said it was satisfied with progress but recommended further long-term changes, such as audits for officers being considered for senior promotion and those with high-level security clearances.
