Jacks and Jokers by Matthew Condon

Matthew Condon, Jacks and Jokers (St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press; Kindle edition, 2014), 466 pages.

Jacks and Jokers is the second book in a three book series about police corruption in Queensland, Australia from the 1960s through the late 1980s. This book covers the mid 1970s through the mid 1980s. It provides exquisitely detailed accounts of various illegal and criminal activities in Queensland during that time and the manner in which some of these activities proceeded without police or State government interference. The numerous stories of illegal and criminal behavior demonstrated various degrees of police (and at time government) complicity, co-operation, approval and involvement. The author goes beyond explaining the scope of the crimes and the level of police corruption to show how elements of the Queensland became a law unto themselves, having changed from being a tool in the administration of justice to being a political arm of government and an organizer or overseer of various protection rackets involving narcotics, prostitution and illegal gaming.

Crime has been around for a long time, since the times of Cain and Abel, or if you prefer, Romulus and Remus. Baring some dramatic shift in human nature, its likely to continue. We shouldn't be surprised then to read of it in its various forms, including murder, bribery, corruption, prostitution, drugs and gambling. THis book covers a lot of these sorts of crimes. What surprises this reader is the scale of these activities the in one region of Australia, and the extent of police involvement and government blindness to the police force's involvement in its operation, control and management. This book does very well in documenting these activities. Some of these crimes have been reported in other book and publications, and others have come to light by involved persons disclosing them to the author following the publication of the author's first book in this series. This second book by Condon shines a light on these troubled time in Queensland, Australia. Its well written, but readers should be cautioned that after a while they may tire of continuos chapters of illegal and criminal activities with no opportunity for catharsis of the emergence of an heroic figure. For this, we will have to wait for the third book in the series to be published.