Long before she made history as the first female NSW Police Commissioner, Karen Webb’s life was altered by a horrific secret: her 12-year-old brother had been molested on a school camp, setting off a lifetime of silent torture that ultimately ended in suicide.

Now, in an extraordinarily candid memoir, Duty Bound, the former top cop speaks out for the first time since walking away from policing, revealing how Gary’s agonising secret gave her a profound empathy for victims and forged a relentless 38-year mission to fight for those who couldn’t protect themselves.

Published by HarperCollins, Duty Bound marks a dramatic end to the stoic silence Webb maintained when she walked away from the state’s top job.

After enduring intense political pressure and media storms, the former commissioner is finally taking control of the narrative to deliver her own unvarnished truth.

While commentators and critics picked over the bones of her leadership, Webb refused to engage in a public slanging match. But in Duty Bound, Webb will finally step back into the frame to tell her side of the story – and the revelations will be explosive.

“I felt like it was the right time to set the record straight,” she told news.com.au in an exclusive interview.

“A narrative was created about me by people who didn’t know me and who didn’t understand, or care, about the damage their actions would cause,” she said.

“Much has been written about my time as commissioner and a lot of it, I would argue, is unfair and inaccurate. I have never stepped back from doing what I think is right for the men and women in blue and the wider community and that’s something I am proud of.”

Webb said her memoir will be a chance to speak her truth. “I think it’s time,” she said.

At the beating heart of Webb’s narrative will be a deeply personal revelation: the suicide of her middle brother, Gary, which instilled in her a deep, personal empathy for victims that guided her throughout her career.

Webb reveals Gary kept his trauma buried for years before finally finding the courage to report his childhood attacker to police during the landmark Wood Royal Commission into police corruption and pedophilia in the 1990s. But because he couldn’t adequately identify his abuser’s face, “his monster” was never caught.

“The horrendous childhood trauma changed my brother and his life,” Webb said.

“He was fun loving, like most 12 year olds, but after the assault became quiet and withdrawn.

For years we didn’t know why. It’s just sad, heartbreaking. Gary was robbed of his childhood, and everything else.”

The loss left an indelible mark on her family, but Webb refused to let it break her. Instead, she brought that deep understanding of trauma into her work, volunteering for the harrowing, high-pressure child mistreatment unit during her time in uniform.

Her relentless commitment to child protection remains central to her work post the NSW Police Force. Most recently, Webb co-led a high-profile independent review into the Northern Territory’s child protection system, calling out systemic red flags after the murder of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby in Alice Springs. The report findings are due to be released next month.

Yet, hunting criminals was only half the battle. In Duty Bound, Webb will lift the lid on an internal war that proved just as treacherous: navigating a toxic, entrenched “boys’ club” while enduring relentless, brutal public scrutiny.

Throughout her three years as Commissioner, Webb was heavily criticised, largely over her performance in front of the media during high-profile crises. From hyper-analysed press conferences to public slip-ups, her stilted media presence became blood in the water for political opponents and commentators who relentlessly called for her head.

Now, Webb will reveal the raw reality behind those podium appearances and share her first-hand experiences of institutional sexism that prompted her to establish the landmark independent culture review into the NSW Police Force – the 2024 sweeping inquiry that looked at leadership, diversity and inclusion, recruitment and promotion, and systems for preventing and responding to harmful behaviours within the NSW Police Force.

More than 5000 current and former staff engaged with the review, either through face-to-face interviews, online surveys, written submissions or group discussions.

Lead reviewer Kristen Hilton said people spoke of their pride, their service “but also burnout, fatigue, discrimination, and bullying”.

The review contains deeply disturbing allegations, including one female officer who alleged a sergeant placed his hands on her, whispering: “You’re not leaving until I have sex with you.”

Others reported daily comments centred around body-shaming and “sexiness”.

The NSW police force has accepted all 29 recommendations across seven themes, including leadership, addressing harmful behaviours, and support and care for NSW Police Force staff members.

Webb says the fact that a flood of officers who came forward to share their own painful stories “completely shatters the convenient narrative of a few bad apples”.

“Establishing the review was extremely important to me and is important to the future of the force. I hope the current leaders take it seriously,” she said. “The overwhelming response proves that policing still suffers from a deeply entrenched culture problem, one that protects powerful internal cliques while punishing those who don’t fit the mould. “Far more must be done to protect the rank-and-file officers”.

Duty Bound, written by Karen Webb with news.com.au chief reporter Cydonee Mardon, will be published by HarperCollins in March 2027. Pre-order here.