And hard work has paid off for the JPOs. Police Constable (PC) Chow Chi-hang from New Territories South Emergency Unit (EU), PC Chan Wing-kit from Tin Shui Wai Division and PC Chung Chi-ho from New Territories North EU have pulled off Distinction in the exam, while Woman Detective PC Leung Sui-ling from Organised Crime and Triad Bureau has scored Great Credit.

Speaking of the recipes for their success, all the four officers stressed that hard work is much more than burning the midnight oil, and that good preparation is essential. For them, preparation means familiarising with the exam syllabus, finding the necessary information, studying the exam Debriefing Reports to find out the common mistakes among candidates, and familiarising with the contents of the Police General Orders (PGO), Force Procedures Manual (FPM) and Police Manual (PM). Speaking of their own experiences, they pointed out that inadequate preparation is bound to disappoint exam candidates.

Goal of getting better equipped

PC Chow had a good start with the qualifying exam in 2001, scoring Credit. As he garnered more work experience from different posts, PC Chow saw the need to enhance his potential for promotion to the rank of Sergeant. "There is no better way to find out how good I am than sitting for the qualifying exam again because in the course of preparing for the exam I got familiar with matters that are important to my job, such as new legislation and police procedures," he noted.

On the day of the 2009 qualifying exam, PC Chow headed for the exam centre with great confidence of pulling off a good result "because I started the preparation many months ahead and really did a lot of revision in the two months before the exam".

The case of PC Chan also shows that good preparation for exam is very important. Having done well in exams at the former Police Training School (PTS), PC Chan was "shocked" when he fared poorly in a mock exam in 2002 arranged by the Training Wing's Examinations and Assessment Division. "I thought as I had done well in exams at the PTS, I could handle the mock exam without much preparation. This was the reason for my failure in the mock exam," he recalled.

The mock exam setback, however, turned out to be a blessing in disguise for PC Chan. He immediately pulled up his socks and studied hard for the qualifying exam, scoring Credit.

In preparation for the 2009 qualifying exam, PC Chan and three of his colleagues formed a study group to spur each other to get well prepared. Besides PC Chan, the other three group members also pulled off very good results: Distinction, Great Credit and Credit.

Setting goals

Undaunted by the failure, PC Chung set getting Distinction as his ultimate goal. He offers this advice to officers preparing for the qualifying exam: "Officers should pay attention to the amendments to law and police procedures highlighted in blue on POINT From Home. After a while, these highlightings will disappear. Before the exam day, officers should have adequate rest as well as a sober mind on the exam day. Burning the midnight oil shortly before the exam would affect one's analytic ability."

From her own experience, WDPC Leung knows only too well what inadequate preparation for the qualifying exam would bring. In 2000, she made her first attempt at the exam without much preparation, thus getting Failure. After reflection and driven by a desire to get better equipped for her police career, WDPC Leung started studying and paying more attention to the PGO, FPM and PM. "When I came across any problem in my studies or work, I turned to my seniors or colleagues for advice and help," she recalled.

Being a crime buster having to work irregular hours, WDPC Leung also knows only too well that time management is essential for exam preparation. "Because of the nature of police work, officers have to make good arrangements for their jobs and studies," she noted.

Examinations and Assessment Division Superintendent Poon Tsang-kee wrapped up the officers' interviews: "The scope of the exam is rather wide. It puts a requirement on the candidates that they would display all-round vocational competency at the rank of Sergeant. I appreciate that the officers have a busy and heavy workload. After work, they spent a long time preparing for the exam. They put in a great deal of efforts, and their excellent results in the exam were not brought by a stroke of luck."

A total of 1,890 candidates sat for the 2009 qualifying exam, with 20 scoring Distinction; 78, Great Credit; 210, Credit, and 1,018, Pass.

Examinations and Assessment Division Superintendent Poon Tsang-kee (centre) praises the four officers for endeavouring to upgrade their all-round competencies