# Another Officer Comes Forward

An episode of [Badge of Betrayal](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1852919243), 17 Feb 2026, 21 min.

Audio: https://p.podderapp.com/2544644999/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/fbab9570-a7a3-4fd4-a673-b3940044b1b8/edd9b830-bf39-47a6-a369-b3f401830345/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=2f1fa4b5-119b-41b5-8749-b3940044b5a4

In this episode a second current serving police officer comes forward. They attended Reynolds funeral and have their own experience inside Taspol. We also explore the links between Reynolds, James Griffin and the U-turn program that ran between 2003- 2013 in Tasmania. For clarity Mission Australia delivered the U Turn program as a contracted provider within a government-led youth justice initiative. The allegations discussed in this episode relate to former police officers and individuals, not Mission Australia or its staff. Mission Australia did not employ Paul Reynolds and had no role in supervising his conduct. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:10] Speaker 1: Before we start, I just want to clarify something that's
[0:12] Speaker 1: raised in this episode. I'll talk about Mission Australia, and
[0:16] Speaker 1: for clarity, they delivered the U-Term program as a contracted
[0:20] Speaker 1: service provider within a government-funded initiative. The allegations discussed in
[0:24] Speaker 1: this episode relate to former police officers and individuals, not
[0:29] Speaker 1: Mission Australia or its staff. Mission Australia didn't employ Paul Reynolds,
[0:34] Speaker 1: and had no role in supervising his conduct. Later in
[0:40] Speaker 1: this episode, we're going to speak to another current serving
[0:42] Speaker 1: police officer in Tazpol. She was at the funeral for Reynolds.
[0:47] Speaker 1: She was shocked to hear about Reynolds' offending years later,
[0:50] Speaker 1: and she feels like more needs to be done.
[0:53] Speaker 2: I felt betrayed by the bad, and it made me feel...
[0:57] Speaker 2: a sense of sadness for the public because they're supposed
[0:59] Speaker 2: to trust us and it made me feel disappointed for
[1:01] Speaker 2: all the work that myself and my good colleagues have done.
[1:04] Speaker 1: But first I want to take you back to something
[1:08] Speaker 1: that we mentioned in an earlier episode. It revolves around
[1:12] Speaker 1: the U-Turn program. As a reminder, U-Turn was a diversionary
[1:16] Speaker 1: youth rehabilitation program run in Tasmania in from about 2003.
[1:20] Speaker 3: The U-Turn program takes teenagers who are at risk or
[1:24] Speaker 3: have stolen cars and gives them a chance to rebuild
[1:27] Speaker 3: their lives as they rebuild a car. The 10-week course
[1:31] Speaker 3: culminated with a 15-year-old boy handing over the car keys
[1:36] Speaker 3: to a man whose previous car was recently stolen and burnt.
[1:41] Speaker 4: The only thing I've got to say is, well, we've
[1:43] Speaker 4: put a lot of hard work into it.
[1:45] Speaker 1: So what did he do on his car?
[1:47] Speaker 2: Well, I've helped replace the gearbox and I've had to
[1:51] Speaker 2: take the radiator out.
[1:53] Speaker 3: During the ceremony, the teenagers were told their work is
[1:56] Speaker 3: as good as a qualified mechanic's. Well, it was a
[1:59] Speaker 3: little bit.
[2:00] Speaker 5: Different to hear someone say that because I've never actually
[2:02] Speaker 5: had someone say anything like that to me before and
[2:04] Speaker 5: tell me that I've done a good job at something.
[2:06] Speaker 5: So that actually made me feel proud of myself and
[2:08] Speaker 5: everyone else that's been doing the course with me and
[2:11] Speaker 5: made me realise that maybe the little things you do
[2:14] Speaker 5: in life actually do help.
[2:17] Speaker 1: It was aimed at young people from between 15 and
[2:20] Speaker 1: 20 who had committed motor vehicle theft or were at
[2:24] Speaker 1: risk of doing so. Now U-Turn wasn't a traditional punishment program.
[2:29] Speaker 1: It was practical and skill-based. Participants completed a 10-week automotive
[2:35] Speaker 1: workshop course and it focused on car maintenance, bodywork, mechanical skills,
[2:41] Speaker 1: spray painting, spray work and restoration. Courses included life skills
[2:47] Speaker 1: training such as personal development, case management, road safety education,
[2:51] Speaker 1: literacy and numeracy support. And it had links to employment
[2:56] Speaker 1: or further education opportunities. In 2015, the Tasmanian government announced
[3:02] Speaker 1: that the funding for U-Turn, in its current younger format,
[3:06] Speaker 1: would continue only until June of that year. After that,
[3:10] Speaker 1: the government planned to back a new model, focused on
[3:14] Speaker 1: an older group of people, specifically people aged between 18
[3:18] Speaker 1: to 25. I've always wanted to know more about this program.
[3:23] Speaker 1: Once that episode went live, we got anonymous contacts via
[3:27] Speaker 1: email and messages. We had one former member of the
[3:30] Speaker 1: early days of U-Turn come forward. He's currently deciding whether
[3:34] Speaker 1: he wants to come on the podcast, but the information
[3:37] Speaker 1: he shared with us off the record paints an ugly
[3:40] Speaker 1: picture of the program in the early days. and it's
[3:43] Speaker 1: littered with more allegations. There was also another call from
[3:50] Speaker 1: an anonymous person who wanted to talk about U-Turn and
[3:53] Speaker 1: its connection to karting in Tasmania. That is, go-karting. So
[4:01] Speaker 1: why is this line of inquiry important? Well, as outlined before,
[4:05] Speaker 1: the U-Turn program was to help young youth offenders rehabilitate
[4:09] Speaker 1: young men... and women between the ages of 15 and
[4:12] Speaker 1: 20 years old. These are the types of men and
[4:16] Speaker 1: women that Reynolds and others like the pedophile nurse James
[4:19] Speaker 1: Griffin would target. Since late December of 2025, we've been
[4:25] Speaker 1: trying to find out what role Reynolds played in the
[4:27] Speaker 1: U-Turn program. There's also another police officer who's currently facing
[4:32] Speaker 1: child sexual abuse claims across his career and is before
[4:36] Speaker 1: the courts. Our sources say that he also was involved
[4:40] Speaker 1: around the U-turn program. We've also been trying to establish
[4:44] Speaker 1: whether Reynolds had connections with other pedophiles, like James Griffin. And,
[4:51] Speaker 1: as rumours suggest, was there a pedophile ring in the
[4:55] Speaker 1: north of the state of Tasmania? That has never been
[4:59] Speaker 1: able to be proven, as was outlined in the Weiss
[5:02] Speaker 1: Review into Reynolds. One of the big things to come
[5:06] Speaker 1: out of that independent report was they could find no
[5:09] Speaker 1: evidence that.
[5:11] Speaker 6: The review found no evidence to show that Reynolds was
[5:14] Speaker 6: in contact or shared information with suspected or convicted sex offenders,
[5:20] Speaker 6: pedophile rings or groups. Despite a thorough examination of Reynolds'
[5:25] Speaker 6: communications and various electronic devices, no evidence was uncovered which
[5:31] Speaker 6: indicated that Reynolds shared explicit images of boys known to
[5:35] Speaker 6: him with other adults.
[5:39] Speaker 1: However, since that review, two former police officers, one of
[5:43] Speaker 1: them that served at the same period as Reynolds, have
[5:46] Speaker 1: been charged with child sex offences.
[5:49] Speaker 7: The report found there were no internal police cover-ups, but
[5:53] Speaker 7: officers who investigated a 2008 complaint prioritised Reynolds' reputation over
[5:59] Speaker 7: the safety of children. The now police commissioner was the
[6:03] Speaker 7: one to refer the complaint for investigation.
[6:05] Speaker 8: I'm devastated and....
[6:09] Speaker 6: I think it's probably had more of an emotional impact
[6:12] Speaker 6: because of the report I made in 2008.
[6:16] Speaker 8: I feel very disappointed.
[6:21] Speaker 9: Yeah, it's my job to.
[6:22] Speaker 8: Make this right.
[6:26] Speaker 1: But let's go back to the go-karting scene in Tasmania.
[6:30] Speaker 1: Why does go-karting play an important role in this episode? Well,
[6:34] Speaker 1: the pedophile nurse James Griffin, who took his own life
[6:37] Speaker 1: before he could be properly investigated, was a key figure
[6:41] Speaker 1: around karting Tasmania. One of his sons was a brilliant driver.
[6:46] Speaker 1: He was state champion when he was 13 and 14
[6:49] Speaker 1: years old. His dad, James Griffin, was there to watch
[6:53] Speaker 1: him in 2015 and 16 take the podium. When Griffin
[6:58] Speaker 1: took his own life in October of 2019... His son
[7:02] Speaker 1: went off the rails and was in trouble with the
[7:04] Speaker 1: police across multiple occasions. Here's some of the headlines.
[7:09] Speaker 6: Launceston man driven off rails by dad's alleged crimes.
[7:14] Speaker 4: The young son of alleged predator Launceston General Hospital nurse
[7:18] Speaker 4: James Griffin was driven off the rails by the accusations
[7:21] Speaker 4: against his father and the older man's suicide, a court
[7:24] Speaker 4: has heard.
[7:25] Speaker 10: The charges on.
[7:26] Speaker 6: This occasion were aggravated evasion of police, driving while disqualified.
[7:31] Speaker 3: And reckless driving.
[7:34] Speaker 1: We've had multiple people come forward who were around in
[7:37] Speaker 1: the karting scene in those years to say Reynolds was
[7:40] Speaker 1: a regular at karting tracks, particularly the one in Launceston.
[7:46] Speaker 1: He was usually in his uniform, and there would be
[7:49] Speaker 1: no reason for him to be at the track in
[7:51] Speaker 1: his uniform unless, of course, he was on police business.
[7:56] Speaker 1: So what police business could be done at a karting track? Well...
[8:01] Speaker 1: As part of the U-Turn program that Reynolds was part of,
[8:05] Speaker 1: the young offenders were able to visit the carting track.
[8:09] Speaker 1: Here's an excerpt from the University of Tasmania's evaluation report
[8:13] Speaker 1: of the U-Turn program, which was prepared for the Department
[8:16] Speaker 1: of Police and Public Safety in July of 2005.
[8:20] Speaker 11: Recreational activities go-karting is a key aspect of the incentive
[8:25] Speaker 11: scheme utilised by program staff. The evaluation shows that this
[8:30] Speaker 11: is a key factor in the success of the program.
[8:33] Speaker 11: Given the target group's interest in cars, this is not surprising. Importantly, however,
[8:39] Speaker 11: the negative impact of not being able to offer go-karting
[8:42] Speaker 11: in some of the courses as a consequence of an
[8:45] Speaker 11: inability to renew the insurance coverage was significant. Clearly, among
[8:51] Speaker 11: this target group, other recreational incentives do not work nearly
[8:55] Speaker 11: as well or at all for some participants.
[8:59] Speaker 1: Core components.
[9:00] Speaker 11: That consideration be given to including the following as core
[9:04] Speaker 11: components of the U-turn BPM. Go-karting as a recreational activity.
[9:10] Speaker 11: The restorative justice component. For example, providing victims with restored cars.
[9:17] Speaker 11: Mixing age groups.
[9:19] Speaker 1: And apparently it worked.
[9:21] Speaker 12: Views on the program were extremely positive and they found
[9:24] Speaker 12: it difficult to suggest aspects that could be improved. Some
[9:28] Speaker 12: of the general positive features identified by participants were the
[9:32] Speaker 12: staff and their manner in dealing with participants. It gave
[9:35] Speaker 12: them something to look forward to every day. Go-karting, learning
[9:40] Speaker 12: about mechanics and bodywork, working on the motors, passing exams
[9:45] Speaker 12: and working on their own cars.
[9:48] Speaker 1: And it wasn't just about the workers at U-Turn. The
[9:51] Speaker 1: young offenders got on well with police, who were also attending.
[9:54] Speaker 12: The residents in Group 1 enjoyed the full range of
[9:57] Speaker 12: leisure activities, including go-karting and going to the skid pan
[10:02] Speaker 12: at the police academy, where they spent time learning drumming
[10:05] Speaker 12: skills and generally having a very good time driving very fast.
[10:10] Speaker 12: They appeared to be very positive about the police officer
[10:13] Speaker 12: who conducted these sessions and felt they learned very useful
[10:17] Speaker 12: practical driving skills.
[10:19] Speaker 8: The following sentiment was not uncommon. I want to come
[10:23] Speaker 8: back to the course. I liked it so much. When
[10:26] Speaker 8: probed for any problems with the program, the most common
[10:29] Speaker 8: themes were it would be better if it was five
[10:32] Speaker 8: days a week. Split the group who go go-karting with
[10:35] Speaker 8: half one week and half the following week. Want to
[10:38] Speaker 8: continue coming when they have completed their course and they
[10:42] Speaker 8: had hoped to end up with a job.
[10:45] Speaker 1: And the police themselves thought the program was a real success.
[10:48] Speaker 1: Here's a press release from March 2013. in which the
[10:53] Speaker 1: then Police Commissioner, Darren Hine, talks about the program and
[10:57] Speaker 1: the graduation class. These are his words, but not his voice.
[11:03] Speaker 10: I congratulate this group for their commitment to this course.
[11:06] Speaker 10: These new skills will not only assist them in their
[11:08] Speaker 10: everyday lives, but also in gaining future employment. Today is
[11:13] Speaker 10: also an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved
[11:16] Speaker 10: over the last 10 weeks and see how these new
[11:19] Speaker 10: skills have already been put to good use. assisting a
[11:23] Speaker 10: victim of motor vehicle theft. The contract with Mission Australia
[11:27] Speaker 10: to provide U-Turn expires in September and will not be
[11:30] Speaker 10: renewed by the Department of Police and Emergency Management. It
[11:34] Speaker 10: hasn't been an easy decision to make. Unfortunately, in these
[11:38] Speaker 10: challenging economic times, everything is under review and we've had
[11:42] Speaker 10: to make changes. We are confident, though, that over the
[11:46] Speaker 10: last 10 years, Tasmania Police, along with the other agencies
[11:50] Speaker 10: involved with U-Turn, has been able to make a positive
[11:53] Speaker 10: difference to the lives of many who have participated in
[11:57] Speaker 10: this program.
[11:59] Speaker 1: We have a current RTI submission in for Reynolds and
[12:02] Speaker 1: his association with the U-Turn program. It's with the RTI office,
[12:07] Speaker 1: and we're awaiting an outcome. You've already heard about the brave,
[12:16] Speaker 1: current-serving police officer who came forward when this podcast began...
[12:20] Speaker 1: to talk about his experience inside TASPOL. He had thoughts
[12:24] Speaker 1: around the Reynolds matter and where he thinks things have
[12:26] Speaker 1: gone wrong. We always thought when we started this show
[12:30] Speaker 1: that there would be other police officers who wanted to
[12:33] Speaker 1: share the same feelings. And now another has come forward.
[12:40] Speaker 1: She is a current serving police officer. She was at
[12:43] Speaker 1: the funeral of Reynolds. She's agreed to speak to us.
[12:48] Speaker 1: We've used a voice actor to read the words transcribed
[12:51] Speaker 1: from our actual conversation. Tell me, firstly, why you wanted
[12:56] Speaker 1: to reach out.
[12:58] Speaker 2: Well, I was listening to the podcast and I felt
[13:00] Speaker 2: like there was more that could be told from the
[13:02] Speaker 2: perspective of a serving police officer, from in particular the
[13:07] Speaker 2: episode about Tom, not his real name.
[13:10] Speaker 1: So, to clarify, you are or have been a serving
[13:16] Speaker 1: police officer in Tazpol? Yes, I am. Let's start there.
[13:21] Speaker 1: What do you know about the Reynolds matter?
[13:24] Speaker 2: So I attended Paul Reynolds' funeral following his suicide. At
[13:30] Speaker 2: that time, I didn't know what any of the allegations were.
[13:33] Speaker 2: And at that time, I was also of the great belief,
[13:37] Speaker 2: same as everyone else, that he was a great guy.
[13:39] Speaker 2: I found out alongside with a lot of my other
[13:42] Speaker 2: colleagues and the public around about the same time, about
[13:45] Speaker 2: three years after the funeral, about the allegations....
[13:49] Speaker 1: How did that make you feel when you found out?
[13:53] Speaker 2: Disgusted, betrayed. I felt betrayed by the bad and it
[13:58] Speaker 2: made me feel a sense of sadness for the public
[14:01] Speaker 2: because they're supposed to trust us and it made me
[14:02] Speaker 2: feel disappointed for all the work that myself and my
[14:06] Speaker 2: good colleagues have done.
[14:07] Speaker 1: How nervous are you about coming forward now and talking
[14:11] Speaker 1: to me?
[14:12] Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely not something that we do.
[14:15] Speaker 2: Policing is like family, like every jurisdiction would tell you
[14:20] Speaker 2: that and there's certainly a code, you know, the blue
[14:23] Speaker 2: code of silence that you don't speak out. But I
[14:25] Speaker 2: also joined the job because I wanted to protect and
[14:27] Speaker 2: serve the public and I feel like unless we speak out,
[14:32] Speaker 2: that can't be done.
[14:35] Speaker 1: What do you recall about that funeral at the time?
[14:38] Speaker 1: It was huge.
[14:39] Speaker 2: It was like I'd never seen so many police officers
[14:42] Speaker 2: in one place. It was a sea of blue and
[14:45] Speaker 2: it was chilling. It gave me chills to see that
[14:47] Speaker 2: many people in one place honouring someone.
[14:52] Speaker 1: Did you know Bo Reynolds? Had you ever crossed paths
[14:56] Speaker 1: with him?
[14:57] Speaker 2: I worked in an area similar to him at one
[15:00] Speaker 2: time of my career. I didn't know him personally, but
[15:03] Speaker 2: I did know who he was.
[15:06] Speaker 1: And what about some of your other colleagues that you
[15:09] Speaker 1: worked with?
[15:11] Speaker 2: Yeah, I worked alongside someone who was, who went to
[15:15] Speaker 2: the recruit, sorry, who went to the academy with him.
[15:19] Speaker 2: So I was quite close with them.
[15:22] Speaker 1: You said to me when we first spoke that this
[15:26] Speaker 1: feels like, it's very much like the royal family. They
[15:30] Speaker 1: call it the business and you just don't talk about
[15:34] Speaker 1: the business outside of the business. Is that right?
[15:37] Speaker 11: Yes.
[15:39] Speaker 2: The firm, that's the word I was looking for. Tasmania
[15:43] Speaker 2: Police is very much like the royal family, like it's
[15:46] Speaker 2: a firm. You don't speak outside of it and it's
[15:49] Speaker 2: run very much like that. Everyone's interconnected and knows each
[15:53] Speaker 2: other and if you speak out, then usually, I suppose,
[15:56] Speaker 2: you might get struck off, so to speak.
[15:59] Speaker 1: We've heard from Tom, another current serving officer, that it
[16:05] Speaker 1: wouldn't necessarily be obvious to the general public that you
[16:12] Speaker 1: were struck out, but he sort of intimated that you
[16:17] Speaker 1: could be frozen out. Like, probably more than that.
[16:21] Speaker 9: You know, organisations can be a bit heartless, so they
[16:23] Speaker 9: can treat people very badly. You know, it doesn't matter
[16:26] Speaker 9: about perhaps... growth and promotion, but in terms of being
[16:30] Speaker 9: isolated and being perceived to be the wrong thing, you
[16:34] Speaker 9: can be shut out completely. It's a pretty lonely place
[16:38] Speaker 9: in what is already a very difficult job.
[16:42] Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely.
[16:43] Speaker 2: You protect each other and you look after each other.
[16:46] Speaker 2: And if you're not, if you do something that doesn't
[16:48] Speaker 2: align with that, or if you speak or you try
[16:50] Speaker 2: and speak out against the firm, then you're struck out
[16:53] Speaker 2: and ostracised from everyone, almost to the point.
[16:57] Speaker 1: I want to tread gently with this next topic, but
[17:01] Speaker 1: this whole issue about how you felt about the badge
[17:06] Speaker 1: and how you feel like it betrayed you, it got
[17:10] Speaker 1: pretty extreme, right?
[17:11] Speaker 9: Yeah, yep.
[17:13] Speaker 2: I got to a point in my career where I
[17:15] Speaker 2: felt like I was being ostracised and it got to
[17:18] Speaker 2: the point where I wanted to take my own life.
[17:23] Speaker 1: Do you talk to anyone at that stage inside the force?
[17:28] Speaker 3: I tried to.
[17:29] Speaker 2: I tried to ask for help. I tried to ask
[17:33] Speaker 2: for help and I guess because it didn't align with
[17:37] Speaker 2: what was okay or the rules that I kind of
[17:41] Speaker 2: felt like I didn't matter.
[17:43] Speaker 1: And as you've been listening through to every episode, is
[17:48] Speaker 1: there anything that's resonated with you around your own experience?
[17:52] Speaker 8: Yes.
[17:53] Speaker 2: The episode where Tom was speaking, like a lot of
[17:57] Speaker 2: the things that he said resonated with me strongly. I
[18:00] Speaker 2: think it's important that there's transparency for the public, for
[18:04] Speaker 2: the current serving police, for the past serving police, because
[18:07] Speaker 2: when things like this happen and decisions like this are made,
[18:10] Speaker 2: it affects all of us because the reputation of Tasmania
[18:14] Speaker 2: Police is a reflection of the people that are within it.
[18:18] Speaker 2: So it kind of affects everyone and there should be transparency.
[18:21] Speaker 2: We all deserve to know the truth and the decisions
[18:25] Speaker 2: that were made around the funeral and why they were made.
[18:30] Speaker 1: The police commission has come out literally after the Greens
[18:34] Speaker 1: announced that they wanted a parliamentary inquiry and said that
[18:38] Speaker 1: there have been four separate investigations into Reynolds' death and
[18:44] Speaker 1: the suicide. She... publicly has apologised on behalf of the
[18:49] Speaker 1: police service around the funeral and the fact that she
[18:54] Speaker 1: agrees that it was wrong and it shouldn't have happened,
[18:56] Speaker 1: as did the police minister at the time. Is that enough?
[19:00] Speaker 1: Is that enough? Should we just stop and not ask
[19:03] Speaker 1: any more questions?
[19:06] Speaker 4: No.
[19:07] Speaker 2: There's still a lot of people that have a lot
[19:09] Speaker 2: of questions and the inquiries that have been conducted. The
[19:12] Speaker 2: police commissioner has explained and she has stated that she
[19:17] Speaker 2: created the terms of reference for that, so everything should
[19:20] Speaker 2: have been investigated. As a police officer, you make sure
[19:24] Speaker 2: you investigate every angle. You don't just stick within the
[19:27] Speaker 2: terms of reference, especially when they're created by a police
[19:30] Speaker 2: commissioner who's the predecessor of the one that made the
[19:34] Speaker 2: decision for the funeral. I think it's important for the
[19:37] Speaker 2: transparency of this issue because there are so many other
[19:41] Speaker 2: issues within the police service that the public never ever
[19:44] Speaker 2: hear about. And if we're not going to look at
[19:46] Speaker 2: every angle for this one, how are we going to
[19:49] Speaker 2: ensure that those bad eggs aren't gotten rid of?
[19:53] Speaker 1: What sort of issues are we talking about?
[19:56] Speaker 2: Sexual harassment, family violence. There's, unfortunately, when you have a
[20:01] Speaker 2: large pool of people, you're going to get some bad eggs.
[20:04] Speaker 2: But the important part is to ensure that we can
[20:06] Speaker 2: identify those and get rid of them because they are
[20:08] Speaker 2: what reflects on the Tasmania Police and the public needs
[20:12] Speaker 2: to be able to trust their police. If they can't
[20:15] Speaker 2: trust their police, then who can we trust? And also
[20:19] Speaker 2: the people that work for the service, such as myself,
[20:21] Speaker 2: we need to be able to trust the people that
[20:23] Speaker 2: we work with. If they're not going to try and
[20:25] Speaker 2: do every investigation they can into what happened with Reynolds,
[20:29] Speaker 2: then what does it mean for all the other issues
[20:32] Speaker 2: that are within the police service?

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.