The sensational murder convictions this winter of former NSW detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara for the killing of drug dealer Jamie Gao has meant that previously suppressed material in Bent can at last be read.

James Morton and Susanna Lobez have illustrated, in several Gangland books, that Australia almost certainly has out-ganged other countries. Now their spotlight is turned on corruption within the police services and identifying which state wins the bent cop handicap.

Morton and Lobez examine the problems that started with the First Fleet and spread through to the present day, looking at the trouble caused by greed, power, drink, sex, money and, most recently, drugs. They compare the experience in Australia with corruption in America, England and Hong Kong, concentrating in particular on organised corruption at the highest levels, including judges, lawyers and politicians, through to the petty criminals who work our streets.

Which state has the shadiest cops? The answer will surprise you.