Prior to the formation of a unified police force, the colony of Tasmania (then called Van Diemen's Land) was policed from 1803 under the administration of Lieutenant Governor David Collins by a small number of superintendents and overseers, and from 1804 by a civilian body known as the "Night Watch", brought by Collins from Port Phillip Bay.

A municipal police force was established at Port Dalrymple (Launceston) on 19 November 1804, with Thomas Massey as Chief Constable.

[3] The early police officers were to undertake a wide variety of tasks from compiling the electoral roll in 1903, to tracking missing rifles from the Tasmanian contingent to the Second Boer War.

Currently, only officers of the Special Operations Group and the emergency response team at Risdon Prison Complex are authorised to carry tasers.

[13] In August 2018, Tasmania Police began the rollout of body worn cameras to frontline officers,[14] as part of a $3.4 million program to deploy them across the whole force over four years.

Notably the Traffic division adopted Nissan Skyline Silhouette pursuit cars in the late 1980s.

[16] Tasmania Police vehicles are based around several platforms, including the Hybrid Toyota Camry, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorrento for general (urban) patrol.

The Highway Patrol utilise a variety of makes and models employed on a "best-suitability" basis including Subaru Outback, VW Passat, Kia Stinger and BMW 5 series “M Sport” models.The Ford Ranger and Isuzu D Max are currently used as base vehicles for divisional vans, fitted with a custom Varley-brand rotary-moulded, "pod" for transport of prisoners.

Divisional vans are also predominantly used as patrol-support vehicles, to transport people under-arrest who have displayed a propensity for violence.

[17] Tasmania Police general patrol vehicles are equipped with mobile data terminals, used to interrogate criminal and traffic databases.

The medal is circular and nickel-silver, with the obverse featuring the outline of Tasmania emblazoned with the heraldic lion in the centre.