It's not often you get to celebrate a 50-year work anniversary.
On this day – 28 January – in 1970, Bruce Russell of the Financial Crime Group was sworn in as a cadet at 17 years old.
The cadet training programme was introduced as a way of capturing school leavers who were too young to become sworn officers but were keen to join Police.
When the training finished, Bruce was 18. At the time, the minimum age for police officers was 19 - he was still too young to be officially sworn in.
He became a temporary constable and three months later, in 1971, Bruce was finally sworn in as a constable and began frontline work in Auckland, before transferring to Dunedin in 1975. There he served on the Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) for a short time, and joined the CIB.
After two-and-a-half years he was promoted to detective sergeant and moved to Invercargill where he worked with a team of detectives.
In 1981, Bruce moved to Hamilton, where he rejoined the AOS, and continued to work in CIB until 1993, when new Proceeds of Crime legislation was introduced.
He joined the new Proceeds of Crime Unit as a detective sergeant and has worked in financial crime ever since, including four years from 2002-2006 when he took a leave of absence to work for the UN as an anti-money laundering advisor in the Pacific.
Bruce says one of the things that gives him the most satisfaction is working on investigations with overseas agencies – he enjoys the challenge of bringing people together from differing backgrounds to get a result.
On his return to Hamilton he continued working for the Financial Crime Group, eventually taking up a non-sworn investigator role in the Asset Recovery Unit and moving to Tauranga.
Bruce is proud of the work he and his wider team have done in the financial crime area – since the updated Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009, the Tauranga team hasn’t lost a case.
“That makes me real proud,” he says. “We could apply that to the wider Waikato group too. Our statistics are fantastic.”
Bruce could be forgiven for considering retirement, but he says slowing down isn’t in his thinking. In fact, even as he was nearing 50 the younger members of his AOS section complained that he walked too fast.
He loves the job, especially the camaraderie and getting to help others develop and grow as investigators.
One of those investigators was Detective Inspector Craig Hamilton, Acting National Manager Financial Crime Group.
“Having worked with many, Bruce without doubt is the detective who has had the greatest influence on my career,” says Craig. “He is a consummate professional, and his values, his sense of fairness and his work ethic and skill continues to be inspirational.
“The support, advice and comradeship that he also provides to many is second to none and I know these sentiments are shared by many.”
Commissioner Mike Bush has added his congratulations.
“Fifty years is a fantastic achievement,” he says. “Bruce Russell’s knowledge and experience make him an absolute asset to New Zealand Police.”