In this bonus epsiode From the Desk Adam asks the question. Australia is getting tougher on youth crime — longer sentences, stricter bail laws and “adult time for adult crime.” But with youth detention costing more than $1 billion a year and around 85% of young offenders returning to the system, is locking kids up really making us safer? Adam Shand looks at the disturbing crimes driving public anger, the teenagers being recruited by organised crime, and why tougher punishment alone may be failing to stop the next generation of offenders.

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Former Australian Federal Police commander Glen McEwen spent 35 years confronting organised crime, terrorism and international crises. His new book, Crime, Chaos and Controversy, takes readers behind the scenes of operations including the Bali bombings and the dramatic Thai cave rescue. Glen joins Adam Shand to reveal what happens when police must make life-and-death decisions amid uncertainty—and the personal cost of leading when the world is watching.

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Recent arrests in Melbourne of individuals alleged to be connected to offshore organised crime bosses have raised hopes police may be turning the tide on the arson campaign that has beset Melbourne. Adam talks with Detective Inspector Graham Banks of Victoria Police’s Eclipse taskforce.

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The Northern Territory’s homicide rate is more than five times the national rate, while communities including Alice Springs and Katherine experience extraordinary levels of assault and domestic violence. Adam Shand draws on his own experience working in Nhulunbuy more than 40 years ago to examine the role of alcohol, disadvantage and intergenerational trauma — and asks the question: after decades of interventions and promises, what has actually been proven to reduce the violence?

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For 25 years, former NSW prison officer Simone Patterson lived with the consequences of sexual harassment and assault by a male colleague. Then she decided to pursue justice — and succeeded. Simone joins Adam Shand to explain why she waited, what it took to go to court, and what finally being heard meant to her.

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In the 1970s, Peter Vaitos was one of Australia’s most notorious sexual predators, known as the “Silver Gun Rapist.”

But behind the headlines, the crimes and the prison sentence was a family forced to live with what he had done.

In this episode of Adam Shand, talks with Vaitos’ daughter, Stacey, about growing up with a father capable of terrible crimes, the moment she began to understand who he really was, and the impact his offending had on her life and her family.

It’s a deeply personal conversation about shame, forgiveness, loyalty, anger and the difficult truth that the families of offenders can become victims too.

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Using the allegations against convicted rapist Ralph Carr as a starting point, Adam Shand explores the hidden power imbalance at the heart of sexual abuse. Drawing on conversations with another alleged victim who feared Carr’s influence, this episode examines how authority, reputation and fear can silence victims for years—and why understanding that imbalance is essential if we want justice to prevail.

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Paul Terrance Mallinder was found guilty of the 1985 shooting of Kay Nesbit, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. For more than four decades, he has maintained that he did not commit this crime that left an innocent woman disfigured.

In this rare and confronting interview, Mallinder tells his story in his own words. He speaks about the investigation that led to his conviction, life behind bars, and why he believes the justice system got it wrong.

This is not an endorsement of Mallinder’s claims. It is an opportunity to hear directly from one of Australia’s most controversial convicted criminals.

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