Policing Australia: The Official Podcast of the Australian Police Journal

In January 2014 a brutal murder occurred to the north of Adelaide. Attending police were confronted with the body of an asylum seeker laying in the yard of his suburban home. The offender, a neighbour who was also an asylum seeker known to the victim, initially denied knowledge of the crime and attempted to implicate an innocent witness. 

Retired South Australia Police Senior Sergeant Carl Whitaker talks to podcast host Jason Byrnes...

Noted UK criminologist and author Christopher Berry-Dee talks to Jason Byrnes about his lengthy career in dealing with serial killers, psychopaths and savages. He talks about some of the more memorable people and cases he has dealt with. Chris’ books can be purchased through major bookshops and internet sites.

To subscribe to the APJ, go to www.apjl.com.au and click the subscribe button.

In the interview Chris mentions serial killer ...

To varying degrees, all Australians are either victims of terrorism or have been adversely impacted by terrorist acts. This includes police, emergency workers and counter terrorism professionals. 

Victims of Terrorism Australia (VOTA) has been formed to assist victims cope with trauma and to come out the other side. Two retired police who had distinguished careers in counter-terrorist operations, Caroline O’Hare and David Gawel, joi...

Imagine having to police a war-torn nation with no laws, limited or damaged infrastructure and a deeply traumatised community. That’s what Australian police were faced with in late 1999 when they deployed to East Timor as part of a massive United Nations peacekeeping operation. 

Michael Ward was one of hundreds of police who volunteered to help the people of East Timor after they had voted for independence from Indonesia, and after ...

In the latest podcast from the APJ, hear from two detectives involved in a missing person case which soon became a homicide investigation, and an investigation into criminal drug dealing.  

Allecha Boyd was reported missing to police in mid-2017. Inquiries suggested the involvement of a local drug dealer and his associates. 

Detective Sergeants Brent Fletcher and Tim Briggs talk about how police were able to build briefs of evidence ...

A horrid rape and robbery in December 2006 brought Ipswich detectives into contact with a man who had previously been convicted of multiple rapes and sexual assaults in Queensland and New South Wales. On this occasion however, police were initially unable to find direct evidence of the man's guilt. Over time, detectives were able to build a brief of evidence based on the principles of propensity evidence.

Former Detec...

Police are called to a perplexing scene at a rural property where a man’s body was found lying face down, pinned to the ground by the rear wheel of his utility. There were no tools nearby. Was it a case of death by misadventure, or something more sinister?

A scientific officer develops a hypothesis which appears far-fetched at police headquarters. A reconstruction of the scene is undertaken, with amazing results.

Recently retired Dep...

Former policeman Ronald Cornish talks about his time as a police peacekeeper with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Sixty years ago, Australia sent its first contingent of police to UNFICYP, to undertake monitoring duties of Greek Cypriot police. Australia’s contribution to UNFICYP eventually lasted 53 years, with the final contingent leaving in 2017.

In 1965 Constable Ron Cornish of the Tasmania Police was ...

Elder abuse is a crime long ignored or downplayed in society. This needs to change, especially as society ages. Abuse can be physical and/or psychological, is often committed by people the victim relies on or trusts, and can hasten a victim's death.

Rob Critchlow APM is the author of the article titled 'Dignity and Safety: Responding Effectively to Abuse of Older Persons', which is in the new (June 2024) iss...

Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan APM talks about his time as the Chief Police Officer (CPO) for the Australian Capital Territory. The experienced police officer has worked at the local and national levels for 40 years - starting as a general duties Constable in the ACT and ending up leading ACT Policing. On the way he held responsibilities for leading the Australian Federal Police's Counter Terrorism, Cyber and Organised Crime...

Author and APJ Deputy Editor, retired Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Fay, discusses his 2016 crime case article titled An Unexpected 'Mayday' in November – the callous murder of three men in NSW. The first two were shot inside a Sydney gun shop in 1977. The third victim was a police sergeant, gunned down in 1980 when he unknowingly asked too many questions of the offender in remote bushland to the west of Newcastle. The ...

Interested in learning about the challenges of police leadership in the 21st Century?

The day before she retired from the role of Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service (QPS), Katarina Carroll APM spared some time to talk to Jason Byrnes about a range of topics. These included the challenges facing police now and into the future, the skills future leaders should possess, how the QPS responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the...

In 2002 three men died in grizzly circumstances in Melbourne, after a series of gang related incidents. One young man was hacked to death by offenders wielding samurai swords. Three of his friends were then chased into the cold Yarra River - two of them drowned.

Recently retired Detective Sergeant Brett Smith wrote the article ‘Asian Gangs Blood the Yarra’ in the June 2009 issue of the APJ. In the podcast Brett, and his then Senior ...

APJ Deputy Editor Barry Fay joins host Jason Byrnes to give an overview of the police investigation into a horrific 1978 crime where a mother and two of her young children were abducted from their home. The mother was raped and all three subsequently murdered.

Barry discusses the course of the investigation and explains some of the procedures used to identify and bring the offender to justice. As with many such investigat...

An arson at a major Australian naval base in December 1976 left the country without its naval surveillance and submarine detection capability for months. It was the most costly and complex fire ever to have occurred in the country, apart from major bushfires and some attacks during World War II.

In this episode APJ Editor Simon Bouda narrates the article titled: ‘How Teamwork Unmasked the Albatross Arsonist’, written by then Detecti...

A gunman goes on a rampage in the national capital. He tries to murder two people, explodes his car and sets fire to an office building, recklessly endangers the safety of hundreds of people, and shoots at police. Specialist (tactical) police enter the burning building to hunt for the gunman, while firefighters rescue people stuck in a radio station on the building’s first floor. 

In this gripping episode you will hear from police a...

In this special episode we learn about the planning and logistics involved in hosting National Police Remembrance Day (NPRD) services in the nation’s capital. The main Dusk Service involves police from across the county. This year the Commissioners from Queensland and Western Australia attended, along with the AFP Commissioner and the Governor-General of Australia. NPRD has significant resonance for the policing community in Austra...

It's seldom that counterfeiters end up killing police. Sadly this occurred in 1902 when a 'Coiner' (old Australian slang) murdered two police officers - one in NSW and one in Victoria. In the first case the coiner had an accomplice. Danny Webster and Noel Johnson's article 'The Coiner Killers' is a remembrance piece in the September 2023 edition of the APJ. Danny joins host Jason Byrnes, to talk about ...

Ballistics expert, Sergeant Gerard Dutton, talks about his extensive career. Crimes mentioned include his recollections of the Belanglo Forest Backpacker Murders investigation and the investigation into the Port Arthur Massacre. He also talks about the work he did for the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), assisting to build the ballistics analysis capacity for the Palestinian Civil Police. Gerard has been a po...