In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand, Adam sits down with recently retired Queensland Police Chief Inspector Corey Allen — a cop who never quite fit the mould.

As a teenager, Corey dreamed of becoming a writer. Instead, he spent nearly four decades inside the Queensland Police Service — stretching himself (literally and figuratively) to get in the door. What followed was a career that took him from tactical response units and protest lines to becoming one of the strongest advocates for empathy in modern policing.

Corey reflects on the culture of policing in 1980s Queensland, the glorified myths of “the good old days,” and the hard lessons that reshaped his approach to the job. From arresting 75 people in a single night to realising he was part of the problem, Corey describes the moment he began listening instead of reacting. And how that shift transformed not only his career, but the lives of vulnerable people on Brisbane’s streets.