Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams to crackdown on unregistered guns

She'd just told the panel she eventually planned to go to university and have a family, and would likely only be a police officer for 10 years.

"Both of those - academic study and being a mum as a policewoman - really did not sit with what policing was like back then," she said.

"Fast forward about 35 years later and I'm still in the job, I was able to go and do my academic study, and my son is now 22 - I'm still here."

Not only is Ms Adams "still here", but she's reached the highest role in the force.

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On October 11 she officially took over from long-term Commissioner Darren Hine - "a calm and considered leader" - and recalls feeling the pressure of decision making falling onto her shoulders.

"I've acted in the role before, but it feels a little bit different when you're it - there's great responsibility that's associated with the role of being Commissioner and secretary for the department," Ms Adams said.

"So many people are looking to you to make a positive change that's going to make their day better when they're performing their roles.

"I've handled that extremely well, but that's also down to the fact I've had such tremendous support."

Staff shortages, better pay and more support emerged as the key themes as Ms Adams began her tenure by travelling across the state to speak with staff members.

Ms Adams is optimistic the recent EBA vote will result in fair pay for employees across the next three years, and hopes to make great strides in helping staff feel happy and valued at work.

She said a recent report - indicating Generation Z will have 17 jobs before they retire - highlighted the wider challenge of retaining staff, and noted the importance of promoting in-house opportunities to those seeking a different challenge.

"We've got to prepare ourselves that we're not going to have police officers that are going to do 45 years before they retire," she said.

"We're going to have to ensure we've got a workforce that can accommodate people coming in and moving out, and sometimes we might be able to attract them to come back."

Ms Adams has pinpointed three focuses for 2023.

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The 2014 Tasmanian businesswoman of the year has set out to implement "back to basics" policing, allowing police to focus on the issues affecting their local area.

She wants to build on improved police responses to sexual and family violence - particularly to better support victim reporting and ensure perpetrators are brought to account.

And in February, she will bring together investigators from across the state to plan how police can crack down on unregistered guns.

"It's particularly dangerous to have firearms in the community, it obviously makes policing dangerous and there are too many firearms used as an enabler of crime," Ms Adams said.

"We're going to make some structural changes internally to ensure that we have a real prioritisation on the illicit firearms that are in the Tasmanian community - that'll be a key priority moving forward."

At her desk, Ms Adams' immediate focus is appointing two new Assistant Commissioners, one of which is a new role focusing on transformation, strategy and risk.

Outside of work, you might find the Commissioner working in the garden, or teeing off at Tasmania or Pittwater golf clubs.

"I enjoyed a little visit to Barnbourgle over Christmas - I only lost six balls this time so I was happy with that.

"I find there's three-and-a-half to four hours when I can't think about work because I'm too busy focusing on hitting the ball straight."

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Reflecting on being made the first female Commissioner in Tasmania Police's 125-year history, Ms Adams called on all Tasmanians with policing aspirations to make the jump.

"We have the highest number of women in our organisation - 42 per cent - we lead the country," she said.

"I say to everybody out there, it's not around gender, it's around us getting the best people.

"We just want people who care about their communities and want to keep them safe - we can help teach you the rest."

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