When Roger Rogerson died over the weekend, many people celebrated the end of an era. Gone are the days, they said, when the NSW police force was so corrupt, it offered priority parking at police headquarters to the select gangsters with whom it was in cahoots.

Because Rogerson, once a celebrated police detective, was arguably the most corrupt of them all. He gave the green light to criminals to commit crimes, in return for wads of cash. By palling around with notorious hit men, and in one case, murdering a drug dealer who stood in his way, Rogerson has become as intrinsic a part of Australian crime folklore as Ned Kelly and Mark ‘Chopper’ Read. 

Today, chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont on why it took decades to jail Rogerson. And whether our police system will ever likely breed another cop as corrupt as him.