He joined Tasmania Police in one of the final intakes for the 16-year-old cadetship program in 1980.

The teenager hadn't considered a career in policing until he saw an ad in The Advocate newspaper about the cadet program.

"I thought, 'that might be pretty cool'," Inspector Flude said.

He applied and was "lucky enough" to sit the final exam of the year for the program.

A week later the then-16-year-old was interviewed in Hobart and accepted into the program.

By age 18 Inspector Flude was on the beat in Burnie.

"It was pretty full on dealing with the community's problems at 18, but it was generally pretty quiet and it was a good opportunity to learn," he said.

The cadetship program no longer exists, meaning the officers who joined through the program and stayed in the force will likely be the last to have 40-plus-year careers with Tasmania Police.  

A familiar face across the state's North and North-West, Inspector Flude entered his 40^th year of policing in February.

In a small interview room at the Launceston station Inspector Flude reflected on the challenges, changes, achievements and camaraderie experienced during his time and what he is looking forward to in the years before he retires. 

Inspector Flude spoke highly about each role he'd held in the past four decades.  

"The good thing about this job is it's like having 20 jobs in one," he said.

Inspector Flude spent four years riding police motorbikes in Burnie and Devonport before taking on a constable position in the North-West criminal investigation branch and the drug squad. 

In 1995 he was promoted to sergeant in Launceston and spent three years in the northern drug squad. 

Inspector Flude said working in CIB and the drug squad were one of the most enjoyable aspects of the job because of the high-level and long-term investigating involved, as well as the heavy reliance on team work.  

From there he was promoted to inspector, he ran the Launceston division for five years and then found himself back working in CIB.

Inspector Flude spoke highly of the five years he spent in CIB, with a number of targeted police operations seizing large amounts of ice and illegal firearms. 

The inspector noted one particular investigation, Operation Dorothy, which was launched in November 2010 to investigate an $800,000 drug trafficking ring in the state. 

"We had a noticeable impact on the availability of ice on the street and illegal firearms," Inspector Flude said.

The investigation brought down a large-scale drug ring in Tasmania, with a number of the state's Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Club members, including the Launceston president Colin David Picard, jailed as a result of the targeted operation. 

"It was a good result," he modestly said about the operation's success. 

From there the inspector took over the Deloraine district and he's been in the role ever since. 

"It's a completely different type of work," he said. 

"It's a big area but a really good community to work in. There's a real appreciation for what you do.

"If I'm lucky enough to retire from this area it'll be a great end to my career."

There's still one big project the inspector will be involved in before he retires in a few years: the planning, building and opening of the new Longford police station. 

Before last year's state election the government promised $5 million to build a new police station at Longford that would have the capacity, space and security requirements to respond the the community's needs. 

"To be involved from the start to finish is something I'm really looking forward to," Inspector Flude said.

"It is an opportunity to future proof the central north area and it's an exciting project to be part of."

It's also an opportunity that very few police officers get to be part of in their careers, so the inspector was grateful for the experience. 

Inspector Flude said the new station would be able to operate as a hub for emergency management operations. 

"It'll be a lot simpler from there instead of town for a number of reasons; parking, accessibility and distance to regional areas for search and rescue operations," he said. 

Some of the most significant changes over the inspector's policing career were community attitude and the focus on police safety. 

"Now the community is way better behaved and more respectful to police," he said. 

"Public assaults don't occur as frequently as they did and anti-social behaviour has also reduced." 

The inspector said years of awareness campaigns and community engagement had reduced the "us vs them mentality".

Police have worked hard to develop relationships with the wider community through meeting councils, community groups and significant organisations.  

Another big change for policing has been technology advancements and social media. 

Inspector Flude said social media had its uses, but the platforms also created a lot of challenges for police. 

"There's so much misinformation on social media and we get caught amongst it trying to get the truth," Inspector Flude said. 

"It's frustrating when emergency details are published before we get to families."

From iPads to body-worn cameras, there have been a number of gadgets and devices that have improved the efficiency of policing.  

Gone are the days where police spent a night in the community and had to return to the station an hour or two before their shift ended to complete their paperwork. 

"Our police vehicles now are our police stations. 

"Police don't sit in stations anymore because they've got computers and can file from the side of the road." 

The body-worn cameras have been another positive addition to policing, the inspector said. 

"It's a great piece of technology for our people and it's a really good safety net." 

Walking in to work each day and not knowing what will happen is an aspect of policing Inspector Flude loves. 

"To me it's a career and I've been lucky enough to enjoy coming to work every day.

"It's a team effort and you learn as you go.

"I've always worked with good teams which is what has made the job so enjoyable."