Since its inception in 1996 by the Force, Operation Breakthrough has been engaging serving and retired police officers as volunteers to help at-risk youths establish correct values and stay away from crime through various sports training. 30-year-old Peter, now stationed in Airport District, joined Operation Breakthrough when he was young. It was his pivot point of life.

Describing himself as an at-risk youth in his early age, Peter recalled, “I liked to wander the streets. With a bad temper, I often clashed with others.” However, after joining Operation Breakthrough, he soon became well behaved. “As the activities were followed up by social workers, students who misbehaved during the training might consequentially lose the opportunities of practising or even competing in the games. Thus everyone would participate in the activities in a steadfast and polite manner.”

Among the many sports training programmes available from Operation Breakthrough, Peter chose rugby because commuting service was available to the trainees travelling to and from the pitches and their homes, and all sports equipment was provided. With his husky build complemented with intensive training, Peter soon became the rugby team’s first string to compete in Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan and other places, which were valuable eye-openers for him.

In addition to broadening his horizons, the experiences also inspired Peter’s ambition. Through Operation Breakthrough, he got to know some police officers, some of whom were members of the specialised units. Their robust frames and upright attitude inspired him to becoming one of them one day. Hence Peter applied to join the Force and became a police constable right after his tertiary education in 2014.

Peter learned from playing rugby that he if wanted to achieve his goal, he had to set the target and make advancement steadily. His goal was to be promoted to inspectorship but a threshold was lying in front of him. “My spoken English is good as I often communicate with foreign rugby players. Yet, I still needed a bachelor’s degree to become an inspector.” With the spirit of Operation Breakthrough, Peter sacrificed his spare time to complete his degree course.

Although Peter had fulfilled the academic prerequisite, his journey to being promoted were full of obstacles which was similar to trying to score a touchdown in a rugby game. After three attempts, Peter finally passed the selection in May last year. He graduated and became a probationary inspector early this year. He even achieved the best results in class and was awarded the Brian Slevin Trophy and Baton of Honour.

Peter, whose life has been changed by joining Operation Breakthrough, never forgets his root. He now utilises his spare time to give back to this very meaningful activity. From a recipient to a donor, Peter now actively participates as a volunteer and has introduced many trainees to join the Force. Since May this year, he has taken over the directorship of the rugby team of Operation Breakthrough and become the officer in charge of the activities. His sense of mission has grown stronger than ever.

Inheriting the spirit of influencing people with sports, Peter said, “I hope to actively contact various stakeholders such as schools and social work organisations to jointly support young adults who feel lost. By sharing my own experiences, I hope to help them establish goals, make a breakthrough and move towards a positive life.”

Operation Breakthrough supports youth through sports

A charity which has been established since 1996 focusing on introducing sports and related activities to disadvantaged teenagers and first-time offenders to impose in them positive values through interaction with role models. Officers interested in joining as volunteers please contact us through email at info@breakthrough.hk