Badge of Betrayal

Six months after first speaking to us anonymously, serving senior police officer “Tom” returns with new allegations about what happens inside Tasmania Police when misconduct involves senior ranks. He explains what he calls “off-book investigations” — matters allegedly handled outside normal reporting and oversight processes — and why he believes they can be used to avoid scrutiny. Tom also reveals the extraordinary position he now finds himself in: having spoken out to help expose these issues, he fears that his involvement in this podcast could complicate his ability to come forward to the parliamentary inquiry
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CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses allegations of sexual misconduct, workplace power imbalance and fear of reporting within policing. The allegations discussed have not been tested in court and have not been independently established. Identifying details have been deliberately withheld.
A detailed anonymous email lands with Badge of Betrayal, containing serious allegations involving a serving female police officer and a more senior colleague.
But this episode is about something bigger than one allegation.
What happens when a police officer believes the person they may need to report has more power inside the organisation than they do? Who can they safely turn to? And what happens when serious information is known inside an organisation, but never becomes a formal complaint?
We also return to our anonymous serving officer “Tom”, who tells us about something he describes as an “off-book investigation” — raising new questions about how allegations can be handled inside Tasmania Police and what records should exist when serious concerns are raised.
As the Parliamentary Inquiry into Tasmania Police responses to allegations of officer misconduct continues, we ask a fundamental question: can a junior police officer report someone at the top and genuinely believe there will be no repercussions?
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Help us continue independent investigative reporting and get additional material, updates and early access through Podshape True Crime on Patreon.
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SUPPORT
If anything raised in this episode affects you or someone you know, help is available.
State-Wide Sexual Assault Support Line — 1800 697 877
24/7 support in Tasmania through Sexual Assault Support Service and Laurel House.
1800RESPECT — 1800 737 732
Text 0458 737 732 for 24/7 domestic, family and sexual violence counselling and support.
1800RESPECT
Lifeline — 13 11 14
Text 0477 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support.
Lifeline Australia
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000.
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CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains confronting and graphic descriptions of alleged child sexual abuse and sexual assault, including allegations involving a child, grooming, coercion and abuse by a person in a position of authority. It also contains discussion of suicide and police misconduct. Some listeners may find this episode extremely distressing. Please take care while listening and skip this episode if these subjects may be harmful or triggering for you.
Another serving Tasmanian police officer has come forward after listening to Badge of Betrayal.
Still wearing the badge today, he has asked us to protect his identity because he fears professional repercussions for speaking out. He tells us about the police academy instructor he once admired, behaviour he says he later witnessed, and the question that has stayed with him for more than 20 years: if Tasmania Police already knew of allegations or concerns, why was this officer ever placed in a position of authority over young recruits?
Our source has also provided information about separate allegations of misconduct involving other members of Tasmania Police. Those allegations are not connected to Paul Reynolds and, at this stage, have not all been independently verified. But they raise a broader question that has followed this investigation from the beginning: when serious allegations are made against police officers, who holds the police to account — and how does the public know that accountability has actually occurred?
Then, we return to a case first uncovered through documents obtained under Right to Information laws: former Tasmanian police officer Rex Klein. We can now reveal the disturbing allegations made against Klein by a woman who says the abuse began when she was just eight years old.
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SUPPORT
If this episode raises issues for you or someone you know, support is available.
1800RESPECT is Australia's national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service. Call 1800 737 732 or text 0458 737 732. Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (1800RESPECT)
For crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14. Lifeline is available 24/7.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story of Paul Reynolds reaches into another Tasmanian case — the death of 15-year-old Eden Westbrook.
In this special crossover episode with Our Little Edey, Eden’s parents Jason and Amanda explain why they want to know exactly what Reynolds wrote, said and communicated while involved with Eden’s case and the coronial process.
We also examine police dispatch records from St Helens, previously unseen call-outs and questions surrounding the morning Eden was found.
Given everything now known about Reynolds, should every case he touched be independently reviewed?
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A new witness comes forward.
As Tasmania's Parliamentary Inquiry into police misconduct officially begins, we examine what it could mean for Badge of Betrayal, the questions it will investigate, and why parliamentary privilege may encourage more people to finally speak.
Then, an anonymous witness takes us back to Tasmania's notorious street groups of the 1970s and '80s, revealing what they knew about convicted child exploiter Gary Devine long before his crimes became public.
Finally, we revisit the unanswered mystery surrounding Paul Reynolds' desperate requests for $50,000, his contact with a criminal associate, and the connections that continue to emerge as this investigation unfolds
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.