Blood on the Badge

Name: Blood on the Badge
Author: https://www.simonandschuster.biz/authors/Alan-Leek/204845488
ISBN: 9781923514393

True Crime, Courage, and Carnage in Australia's Most Violent Years

By Alan Leek

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About The Book

Early 20th-century criminals were at their most ruthless, and their excesses left communities shattered.
In a time when handguns, explosives, and ‘Tommie’ guns were weapons of choice, Australia’s police faced down violent offenders without modern tactics 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 an era when danger came with the badge. From the callous Anzac Day shooting of a young constable, to the murder of a decorated country officer whose bravery earned a posthumous George Cross, these are accounts of men who stepped forward when others ran — and often paid with their lives.

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 reveals the human cost of justice in one of the nation’s most violent periods. These stories are not easy to read — but they must be remembered.

About The Author

Alan Leek

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.

Listen to Alan Leek in conversation with Philip Clark on ABC Nightlife: True Crime Podcasts — Help or Hindrance to Police Investigations Listen here
Web: alanleek.com.au