Blood on the Badge

Gunfights, stabbings, and unspeakable violence — these are the true stories of the officers who stood between chaos and order.

Early 20th-century criminals were among the most ruthless in Australia’s history. Their violent excesses left communities reeling.

In an era when handguns, explosives and Tommy guns were the weapons of choice, police officers faced down dangerous offenders without modern tactics, protective gear or psychological training — relying only on grit, instinct and sheer physical courage.

Award-winning police veteran Alan Leek brings to life a gripping collection of true stories from a time when raw danger came with the badge. From the frenzied Anzac Day stabbing of a young constable who had returned from years of active war service to an officer mortally wounded by a serial killer he had apprehended, whose bravery earned a posthumous George Cross. These are stories of men who stepped forward when others ran — and often paid the ultimate price.

Blood on the Badge is a hard-hitting tribute to the forgotten heroes of Australian policing. Through gunfights, prison breakouts, brutal stabbings and the relentless toll of frontline service, this book lays bare the human cost of justice during one of the nation’s most violent periods.

‘I enjoyed the book immensely … told by a man who has personally experienced and witnessed the life-changing impacts of service.’ -Reg Watson

‘We are often exposed to the hoodlum era of America, but jeepers, Australia was not far behind.’ -Hobart Legacy

‘Some of the crimes dealt with here are horrific and tragic … but they need to be told to set the record straight and ensure that the victims are remembered beyond their names being chiselled into stone.’ -The Book Albury

About the Author

Alan Leek is a 34-year veteran of the NSW Police Force. He served as a detective in Sydney, its suburbs, and the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains regions before becoming officer-in-charge of the Blacktown–Mt Druitt detectives. Rising through the ranks to superintendent, he later commanded several of the state’s toughest areas, including Cabramatta at the height of its heroin epidemic and during Australia’s first political assassination.

Leek also held leadership roles at Kuring-gai, Newtown, and the St George–Sutherland district, where he was appointed by statute. Leaving school at 15, he began his working life as a rouseabout in a wool store before joining the police cadet corps.

He holds an Associate Diploma in Justice Administration (Distinction), a Post Graduate Diploma in Police Management, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, USA. In 1987, he was awarded the Peter Mitchell Award — not for bravery, he notes, but for outstanding performance.

Outside policing, Leek co-founded and directed a fine art gallery from 1983 to 2012. He is a full-term trustee and patron of the Kedumba Collection of Contemporary Australian Drawing, held in trust for the Australian people.