The availability of illicit tobacco in Australia has reached plague proportions, with organised crime involving itself in the smuggling and distribution of the product.

And here’s the strange part – the situation is the result of a public health policy success story!

This episode looks at the nature and scale of the problem as well as examines how policing the so-called heroin drought at the turn of the century might present some lessons for today’s law enforcement agencies.

The three articles are discussed in the episode are:

• ‘Tobacco Wars: An Australian Perspective’, written by Detective Inspector Rohan Best, which can be read at www.apjl.com.au/tobacco-wars/
• ‘Dual-edged benefits of drug policing: A quarter century’s lesson from a heroin drought’ is published in the Journal of Law and Economics, and can be accessed at It can be accessed at https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/jle/vol69/iss1/4/
• ‘As Australia’s tobacco wars continue, a NSW heroin drought in 2000 might offer lessons’, can be read at https://theconversation.com/as-australias-tobacco-wars-continue-a-nsw-heroin-drought-in-2000-might-offer-lessons-274537

Host: Jason Byrnes

Guests: Sergey Alexeev, Rohan Best and Dr Don Weatherburn

Visit www.apjl.com.au to learn more and subscribe.

What would be the challenges facing Australian police, should Australia find itself involved in an existential war for national survival?

The globe is currently experiencing intense geo-strategic rivalries and changing international norms. The Australian Government has described this era as being the most complex set of strategic circumstances since the end of the Second World War. War isn't certain, but many nations (including Australia) are currently building up their military capabilities and equipment levels, just in case.

This episode looks at Australian policing during the Second World War, and of Ukrainian policing in that nation's current defensive war against Russia, to identify what wartime policing could look like. Given the nature of modern war - especially the use of long range missiles, drones as well as acts of sabotage to cause civilian chaos - Australian police could find themselves effectively in the front lines. Further, police operations in wartime are likely to be impacted by societal anxieties, staffing availability and issues surrounding the reliability of equipment. Professionalism, innovation, resilience and dedication to service, will be critical for the policing of a nation at war.

The article that forms the basis of this episode -Total War: A Police Perspective - is in the March 2026 edition of the APJ. For more information, go to www.apjl.com.au.

Host: Gerard Dutton

Interviewee: Jason Byrnes APM

Former prosecutor, Supreme Court justice and anti-corruption commissioner John McKechnie AO KC, talks to host Jason Byrnes about his life and distinguished career. Over the course of five decades John has been involved in numerous high profile criminal cases, as well as hundreds of lesser-known matters that nonetheless impacted victims of crime and their families. In the conversation John includes observations of the legal system, the scourge of domestic violence, policing and the authenticity (or otherwise) of legal TV shows.

John’s book – My Life in Crime: A tapestry of cases – is published by Upswell Publishing. Those wanting to purchase the book can obtain a 10% discount if they purchase it at www.upswellpublishing.com, and use the coupon code: 10%OFF

Host: Jason Byrnes APM

Guest: John McKechnie AO KC

The book review of My Life in Crime can be read at www.apjl.com.au

Distinguished crime reporter and author Janet Fife-Yeomans talks about some of the more interesting cases she covered during her career, and the books she has written about serial killers, sudden deaths, murderers and rapists.

Janet, the daughter of a policeman, started her career in England before migrating to Australia. She worked for newspapers in Western Australia and then in New South Wales. Cases touched on in this conversation include the death of musician Michael Hutchens, the Port Arthur Massacre and the horrendous goings on in the Chelmsford Hospital where psychiatric patients were maliciously killed while being treated.

Janet also provides her thoughts on police/media engagement, as well as insight into some of her books regarding serial killers and coronial investigations. Recently, Janet has begun writing for the APJ and her articles are discussed.

If you have an idea for a future episode of Policing Australia, drop us a line at apj@apjl.com.au

Host: Jason Byrnes APM

Guest: Janet Fife-Yeomans

Hear from the lead investigator of Strike Force Reddan, the investigation into the so-called 'Family Law Court Bombings' - a crimewave which saw four people murdered and many others badly wounded in a series of shootings, bombings and an attempted bombing. Several buildings were destroyed or damaged in the attacks. Strike Force Reddan resulted in the arrest and conviction of the offender, who later died of natural causes while serving his sentence.

In the podcast Detective Inspector Mathieu Russell of the New South Wales Police Force talks about key aspects of the investigation and court case, and reflects on the challenges facing police - both at the time the offences occurred in the 1980s, and more recently with Strike Force Reddan which was a cold-case investigation utilising modern forensic and information management technology.

The podcast episode complements the feature article about the investigation that appeared in the June 2025 edition of the APJ.

To subscribe to the APJ, go to www.apjl.com.au and click on the subscribe button. Alternatively, contact the APJ office at apj@apjl.com.au or +61 (0)2 9285 3399.

Host: Jason Byrnes APM

Guest: Detective Inspector Mathieu Russell

Five short crime case studies from the April-June 1947 issue of the APJ, give insight to policing in the first half of the 20th Century. Case 1: police use an ingenious method to locate a notorious counterfeiter. Case 2: police use common sense and legwork to identify arsonists who had damaged a factory. Case 3: how fraudsters came unstuck, attempting to defraud the government of petrol coupons. Case 4: a lovestruck armed robber is apprehended by detectives. Case 5: a man is murdered in rural Queensland and his body is found in remote NSW. These case studies are some of the first to ever appear in the APJ.

Host: Jason Byrnes APM

The APJ's homepage is www.apjl.com.au

Authorities are notified of a man having been ritualistically killed in a highlands village in remote New Guinea. Australian and New Guinean police, and a doctor, set out on foot to investigate. The case then takes a bizarre turn when the murderer seeks a reward for his actions.

This episode is a case from the archives of the APJ – a 1972 article concentrating on the strange phenomenon known as ‘cargo cults’ and how they emerged in some Pacific Island communities who were keen to enrich themselves with western consumer goods.

It’s a compelling story which shows how – just one lifetime ago – Australia was a colonial power with an international mandate to govern other cultures who were facing the challenges of rapidly adjusting to modernity.

This episode includes a narration of an abridged version of the article, using artificial intelligence (AI). On occasion, the article’s author used the word ‘primitive’ in a way which was widely acceptable at the time it was written, but which is now culturally insensitive. Listener discretion is advised.

You can subscribe to the APJ by visiting the website www.apjl.com.au, and clicking on the ‘subscribe’ button at the top of the page.

Organised crime is the focus of this wide-ranging discussion with author, lecturer and academic, Professor Mark Galeotti. Criminal activities canvassed in the chat include people smuggling, the illicit drug trade, slavery, 3D printed weapons, human organ harvesting, and environmental crimes such as the smuggling of sand and counterfeit cacao beans.

Mark’s recent book – Homo Criminalis: How crime organises the world – covers the history and evolution of organised crime. It leaves the reader pondering the future and how authorities should tackle the challenges posed by criminal syndicates, who are professionalising in a process Mark describes as Darwinian.

Mark also talks about Russian organised crime and how it (and Russian society) is likely to change as a result of the country’s illegal war on Ukraine.

Homo Criminalis: How crime organises the world is published by Penguin Books. Mark Galeotti also produces a weekly podcast and regular blog on developments in Russia, called In Moscow’s Shadows.

If you enjoy the podcast but are not a subscriber to the APJ, please become one as subscriptions fund the podcast and the magazine. For more information, go to www.apjl.com.au

Host: Jason Byrnes APM

Guest: Professor Mark Galeotti