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On a Mission: Strength, resilience, compassion – policing with attitude
In the remote community of Peppimenarti, Northern Territory, Libby Bleakley embarked on her first mission for the Australian Federal Police. After serving in the NSW Police Force for nearly two decades, and having endured great personal suffering, she was ready for a new challenge. Far from any town and a day’s drive from the nearest facilities, Libby developed lifelong connections with many of the locals in this beautiful place.Libby’s passion for community and policing took her into the international arena where she was deployed to Sudan as part of the UN Police. There, her love of people of different cultures helped forge a new spirit on the base where she worked.The following year she was back on the other side of the world in Timor-Leste, again with the UN Police, as the country was undergoing extraordinary change. In the heart of the jungle, Libby found amazing people and a unique opportunity to help the community build their future. On a Mission is a heart-warming memoir, told with Libby’s infectious sense of humour and love for humanity on every page, that will take you along on her adventures around the world and into the communities where she developed life-changing bonds.All profits from the sale of this book go to the Timor Learning Centre.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 5, 2019
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January 12, 2026
Libby Bleakley’s On a Mission is an absorbing and quietly profound memoir that opens a rare window onto the lived reality of Australian Federal Police deployments in the Northern Territory, Sudan, and East Timor. It is an interesting and insightful narrative, not because it trades in drama for its own sake, but because it is grounded in lived experience and a deep respect for the people and places Bleakley encounters.
What lingers most powerfully is her compassion for local communities. Whether working in remote Australian settings or in nations shaped by poverty, conflict, and cultural complexity, Bleakley approaches her work with humility and warmth. She listens. She observes. Above all, she cares. There is an unmistakable sense that she views policing not as an exercise of authority, but as a duty of service. Her heart of gold is evident on every page.
The book does not romanticise the profession. Policing in such isolated and culturally diverse environments is shown to be exhausting, confronting, and often emotionally draining. The challenges of distance, limited resources, and cultural misunderstanding are ever-present. Yet Bleakley meets these obstacles with resilience and resolve, embodying the ideal balance of strength and kindness. She is tenacious when circumstances demand it, but her defining quality remains her humanity. In this respect, she represents policing at its very best.
Stylistically, On a Mission reads like a personal diary. The prose is straightforward and accessible, built from short, clean sentences that mirror the immediacy of her experiences. This simplicity is deceptive; the emotional impact is considerable.
Ultimately, On a Mission is a testament to compassionate service in some of the world’s most challenging environments. It is a reminder that true strength in policing lies not only in authority or endurance, but in empathy, patience, and an unwavering sense of kindness.
What lingers most powerfully is her compassion for local communities. Whether working in remote Australian settings or in nations shaped by poverty, conflict, and cultural complexity, Bleakley approaches her work with humility and warmth. She listens. She observes. Above all, she cares. There is an unmistakable sense that she views policing not as an exercise of authority, but as a duty of service. Her heart of gold is evident on every page.
The book does not romanticise the profession. Policing in such isolated and culturally diverse environments is shown to be exhausting, confronting, and often emotionally draining. The challenges of distance, limited resources, and cultural misunderstanding are ever-present. Yet Bleakley meets these obstacles with resilience and resolve, embodying the ideal balance of strength and kindness. She is tenacious when circumstances demand it, but her defining quality remains her humanity. In this respect, she represents policing at its very best.
Stylistically, On a Mission reads like a personal diary. The prose is straightforward and accessible, built from short, clean sentences that mirror the immediacy of her experiences. This simplicity is deceptive; the emotional impact is considerable.
Ultimately, On a Mission is a testament to compassionate service in some of the world’s most challenging environments. It is a reminder that true strength in policing lies not only in authority or endurance, but in empathy, patience, and an unwavering sense of kindness.
Displaying 1 of 1 review