When Bruce Russell started work as a cop in the 1970s, he had to walk to a pay phone to let the station know he had made two arrests, and needed to be picked up by a police car.

Now in a world of police radios and mobile phones, the man has become an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit after receiving a King's Birthday honour.

During his career, Bruce established the first child abuse and child sexual abuse investigation unit in Waikato, leading to groundbreaking investigation methodology which still shapes how investigations are carried out today.

Bruce has been a special investigator since 2009, and is nowadays a ‘go-to' leader for serious and organised financial crime in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty Police Districts.

Speaking to SunLive, Bruce says his largest recovery of goods from financial crime case adds up to about $48 million.

Bruce's innovative work in New Zealand's first child abuse and child sexual abuse investigation unit helped introduce video recorded interviews of children as a substitute to children coming to court.

Back then, Bruce says video evidence of this nature was not allowed, but it is now entrenched in the legal system and is a regular part of how these cases are tackled today.

'It was quite neat being part of that whole process. It was a pretty powerful time for me emotionally, because you're dealing with the most vulnerable of people.”

Bruce says the process of working out investigations has kept him going for his total 47 years he has spent in the police criminal investigation branch.

'It's not the outcome, it's solving the puzzle. It's the challenge of grabbing the evidence, which can be really challenging, and putting all the bits together to solve the puzzle. I just love it.”

Bruce says he sadly encounters some of 'the same people” he met as children running the sexual abuse unit in his present job investigating drug dealers and individuals who generate high levels of wealth through criminal activity.

'I understand how they got to be there through the harsh offending they were victims of when they were young.”

When asked about his proudest moment in his career, Bruce says receiving a King's honour would 'have to be right up there”.

'You don't work for an honour of this nature. For lots of other things, you can work towards them. You can study hard, you can get promoted, but this is up there with the very best.”

Bruce dedicates his King's honour to all of those he has worked with, as well as his wife for being there for him throughout his career.

'I'd like to say this honour is dedicated to the people I work with. We're a team, and while we take individual responsibility for our investigations, we still do a lot of work as a team and this honour I hope reflects this modern team I am a part of.

'My wife also has been as much on the journey as I have. Police wives take on a lot of responsibility at times, because police husbands aren't always there.

'I had 25 years on the armed defenders squad, which meant I was in and out of bed at all times of the night, and walking out on family functions at times. My wife was the one who continued to run the family while I was out. Partners are an unseen part of the bigger police family for that reason.”