Donna Adams has been appointed Tasmania's first female Commissioner of Police, after 35 years in the force.
The highest-ranked woman in the 125-year history of Tasmania Police began her career as a constable when she was 19 years old.
Commissioner Adams said she felt "privileged" and "honoured" to be 15th person to take on the role of commissioner.
"This is an extremely proud moment for me, and I'm really looking forward to making positive change," she said.
"It's not a position I thought I'd be awarded when I first joined Tasmania Police back in 1987, straight out of school.
"In fact, I only had a very simple ambition to join the drug squad, and as it turns out, it was an ambition I did not fulfil."
Commissioner Adams has previously spoken about being greatly outnumbered by men when she first started in the force.
"When I first went to Bellerive CIB (Criminal Investigation Branch) in 1990, I had to share a toilet with the men and had my name on the first cubicle," she said.
In 2009, she became the first woman promoted to the rank of commander, before last year becoming the state's first female deputy commissioner.
Focus on 'back-to-basics policing'
Throughout her career, Commissioner Adams has received several awards, including the Commissioner's Commendation for her work after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, as well as an Australian Police Medal for Distinguished Service.
She will take over the role from Darren Hine, who will retire on October 11 after more than 40 years in Tasmania Police and 14 as Commissioner of Police and Secretary of the Department.
Commissioner Adams said she had a "big pair of shoes to fill."
"Darren [Hine] has provided outstanding leadership, and support to me over the past 14 years," she said.
"He has transformed Tasmania Police through his inclusive leadership."
The 54-year-old said she would focus on "back-to-basics policing" in the wake of the pandemic and that "prevention and disruption" would also be a key issue.
"Now's the time to re-focus on high visibility policing, and ensuring we have a strong focus on policing local issues in local communities," she said.
"We need to do everything we can to prevent harm before it occurs, we need to do everything we can to prevent victims, from being a repeat victim of crime."
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the significance of her appointment could not be "understated".
"Donna is a highly capable professional, and well placed to provide exceptional leadership to Tasmania Police, and the community," he said.
