As a cop, I used to sit on one side of the interview room table facing murderers, child abductors and rapists. Now I’m sitting on the other side: disgraced, forced out of the police and judged to be a criminal. I want to show you what the world looks like from here.
Talking to crooks, cops, forensic psychologists, scientists and victims, I’ve gone back to some of Australia’s worst acts of badness, including unsolved murders that never made the front pages as well as infamous killings carried out by Ivan Milat and the Granny Killer, the murder of Anita Cobby, the Hoddle Street massacre, Port Arthur, horrific abuse at the Paramatta girls’ home and the disappearance of preschooler William Tyrrell.
What I’ve found has made me question everything, including where evil comes from, what drives us to commit crimes and how we can prevent them. I used to think I was on the side of the angels. Now I am not so sure.