Balances in Law Enforcement Column
Series II - Special Duties
Challenges and stress of drugs busters

2 Photos

Different posts carry different duties, which in turn pose various challenges and stress for officers; and this is especially true for our drugs busters.

In this series, Station Sergeant Ma Bo-hei and Woman Police Constable Ng Fung-wan share with OffBeat readers the experiences of their work in the Narcotics Bureau (NB).

SSGT Ma, now attached to Police Tactical Unit Hong Kong Island, worked in NB for more than five years from 1996 to 2001. WPC Ng has been working in NB in her second tour of duty since late 1999. Her first tour in NB lasted for four and a half years from 1992 to 1997.

WPC Ng had worked for only three years in the Force when she joined the Intelligence Unit of NB in 1992. On the first day of her fieldwork, she felt "her heart beating hard and hands trembling". Nevertheless, she managed to overcome this psychological stress by constantly reminding herself: "If others can do the job, there is no reason why I can't!"

Being a beginner in fighting drugs, WPC Ng naturally also felt stressful when hiccups occurred during field operations, but she always made an effort to evaluate her performances in order to identify remedies, gaining valuable experience in the process.

More challenges

WPC Ng faced more challenges of a different nature after she returned to NB in late 1999 to work in the Operation Unit. The challenges mainly stemmed from gathering intelligence and evidence, making arrests and testifying in court. She illustrated these by citing a one-month undercover operation she had taken part to investigate peddling of psychotropic substances in a disco.

She was excited about this special assignment and regarded it as a new attempt for her, but realised that securing sufficient evidence for a successful prosecution was by no means an easy job. "The stress that I had gone through during the whole operation was worth my efforts when five persons from an organised drug syndicate were brought to court on drug trafficking charges," she noted.

WPC Ng pointed out that unforeseeable factors might emerge during an operation, upsetting plans, requiring officers to make split-second decisions on the spot, and putting considerable stress on the officers.

Echoing WPC Ng's views, SSGT Ma said he had come across the challenge and stress brought about by unforeseeable factors in a major operation mounted in a village in the New Territories.

He recalled: "In the operation, we expected to seize a considerable quantity of marijuana, but when we arrested a man, we found only a small quantity in his car. We were pretty sure that the rest was somewhere in the village, so a flurry of actions was taken immediately in the village in the hope of finding the rest before dusk. As it was getting dark, it was a race against the clock, but thanks to officers' relentless efforts, we eventually found a large amount of marijuana in a house rented by the arrested person. However, we couldn't call it a day and had to start the painstaking job of gathering evidence at the scenes, and called out police dogs to assist."

SSGT Ma also cited another case in which he had played a major role to illustrate the challenge and stress posed by the cunningness of drug traffickers, the expectations of seniors, and the safety of team members.

The case started after SSGT Ma had received information that a drug pusher was active in Kowloon. What followed was an enormous amount of follow-up work, including verifying the accuracy of the information, ascertaining the scale of the drug pusher's activities, gathering and analysing intelligence, securing evidence, and eventually planning arrests.

"A lot of resources had been put into the case; my colleagues had also made a lot of efforts, and my seniors were anxious to pull off a big case. These had naturally put a lot of pressure on me before the whole operation came to a successful conclusion," he noted.

The case gave SSGT Ma a lot of satisfaction when the court sent seven men, including the mastermind of a syndicate, to jail for 12 to 26 years in 1998 for trafficking in 7.5 kg of No. 4 heroin.

Job satisfaction

Despite the considerable stress of their work in NB, both officers derived job satisfaction mainly from pulling off a major case, successfully tackling unpredictable problems during operations, and appreciation and recognition of work performances by superiors.

Coping with pressure

On coping with work stress, both officers said they made an effort to face up to problems and find the best solutions.

SSGT Ma said it was essential to accept stress with a proactive manner, and learn how to deal with it. "Once you've solved a problem, you'll be able to deal with similar problems in the future," he said.

WPC Ng added: "Dodging stress at work may bring more serious consequences. Apart from determination, setting a clear goal for your work and having a sense of commitment would also help ease work pressure!"

After work, both officers go to great lengths to achieve a balanced life mainly by spending more time with spouses and children, engaging in regular exercises and active social life, cultivating healthy pastimes and pursuing continuous learning.

As regards wisdom for work and life, their advice for fellow officers is simply this: "respect and love your career!" Their keys to achieving to a fuller life are enjoying work; viewing success, difficulties and public criticism with an open mind; and adapting to changing environments.

Comments by Psychological Services Group (PSG)

Facing unforeseeable circumstances at work is one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences for frontline officers. From what SSGT Ma and WPC Ng have shared with us, we can appreciate the stress of their work in NB. WPC Ng recalls how she experiences anxiety responses, such as palpitation and hand tremors during the early days of her work in the Intelligence Unit of NB. However, she is not daunted by these anxieties, and instead adopts an effective psychological technique - the use of "Positive Self-Talk" to cope with the novice challenge. She encourages herself with positive reminders that "I can give it a shot if others can do so!" or "I can overcome this if I stay calm and alert!" Numerous psychological researches have demonstrated that positive "self-talk" is a big encouragement in times of adversities and a motivation for enhancing problem-solving abilities. Moreover, positive "self-talk" plays an important role in preventing us from falling into the trap of "tunnel visioning and from spiraling down the slope of negative thoughts", all of which would only increase worries and anxieties. Effective positive "self-talk" is not merely words of encouragements; it requires wisdom to analyse problems objectively and make the best use of the skills learned from previous successful experiences to plan effective coping strategies. It can also help to boost self-confidence, giving us strengths to put our plans into actions.

As a team leader, SSGT Ma says that his sources of stress are not confined to the challenges of his work in NB but they also come from the demands of his superior as well as the need to bear responsibilities for the safety of his colleagues. When faced with obstacles, SSGT Ma emphasises the importance of whole-hearted devotion in actively exploring ways to overcome challenges. He finds this undoubtedly more effective than constantly living in fear as a result of dodging problems. SSGT Ma believes that adversities are part of everyday work and dodging problems will only bring momentary relief, and limit one's flexibility to cope with obstacles in the long run. SSGT Ma's adoption of active coping attitude and strategies tallies with psychological research studies, which suggest that active coping, rather than avoidance coping, will help to enhance self-confidence and provide strengths to overcome future challenges.

SSGT Ma and WPC Ng both strongly agree that their motivation at work comes from devotion to duties and adoption of a "respectful and enjoyment" attitude towards work. Recalling previous successful attempts and recognising one's strengths will fortify future problem-solving ability, thus leading to better stress management. At the same time, using wisdom to actively cope with challenges, as well as using positive self-talk to balance stress and anxieties, are all worthy of our appreciation.

Seek advice and help from the PSG: 2866-6206 (5th floor, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay). PEN:psg@police.gov.hk

(All cases will be kept in strict confidence.)

WPC Ng Fung-wan never dodges work pressure