A Woman of Force

They call her 'the gangbuster'.

The police force can be a tough place for a woman, but Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace rose to the top with grace, humour and an iconic sense of style. In her incredible 36-year career with NSW Police, Wallace took on murderers and drug suppliers, and dismantled the state's most nefarious gangs.

Tenacious, perceptive and sharp, Wallace commanded a range of police crime squads, bringing order to the wild west of 1990s Cabramatta and busting criminal bikie gangs with Strike Force Raptor, until her retirement in late 2019. Her inner strength and empathy meant that she was a constant go-to for some of the state's toughest cases, and her poise and compassion earned her a special place in the lives and hearts of her colleagues - and the grudging respect of her criminal foes.

In Wallace's official biography, veteran crime writer Mark Morri brings to life the jaw-dropping true story of a police trailblazer and woman of force.

About the Authors

Born in October 1961, Mark Morri grew up on Sydney's lower north shore, attending St Leo's college before joining News Limited as a copy boy in 1980 after finishing his HSC.

As a crime reporter in the '80s, he worked at the Daily Mirror, covering the Sydney gangland murders, the Father's Day Bikie massacre and the abduction of Sydney schoolgirl Samantha Knight.

Promoted to Chief of Staff, he still specialised in crime reporting, covering the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 and the backpacker murders by Ivan Milat. He worked for a brief time on the New York Post before coming back to the Daily Telegraph again as Chief of Staff.

Over the past thirty-five years, Mark has covered nearly every major crime in Sydney, building contacts throughout the police force (and the criminal world).

He is currently the crime editor of the Sydney Daily Telegraph.

Deborah Wallace joined the NSW Police Force in 1983, starting at the Blacktown station. She gained notoriety early in her career, when she was involved in the investigation into the murder of 26-year-old nurse Anita Cobby.

Deborah rose in the ranks to Detective Superintendent and commanded various specialist squads, including the South East Asian Crime Squad, Middle Eastern Organised Crime and Strike Force Raptor. She retired in December 2019. She lives in Sydney.