Balances in Law Enforcement Series XI
'Clasps of Excellence'
For a police officer having worked in a stressful job for over 20 or even 30 years, his career prospect and salary have probably come to a standstill. With public expectations keeping on rising, what are the factors that have motivated the officer to remain devoted to his job? To find out the answers, Psychological Services Group starts this new series of "Balances in Law Enforcement" - "Clasps of Excellence" - and interviews a few officers with over 20 years of services for their wisdoms. The officer for this issue is Senior Police Constable Sit Wai-keung, also known as "GeiOn". Having served in the Force for 28 years, he still has a great passion for his job.
"It is very important for me to set my goals. I keep telling myself not to be afraid of trying new things and doing my best in every job." With this attitude, GeiOn has accumulated experiences of working in Report Room, internal security, Police Reporting Centre, Motorcycle Beat Patrol, traffic and Quick Reaction Force.
For GeiOn, the computerisation within the Force in the 1990s was the most tremendous challenge over the years. At that time, he was working in the Sha Tin District Accident Investigation Team (AIT), which was one of the first Force units to use Chinese word processing. "Global computerisation is an irreversible trend. Looking back, it was a good decision to accept changes or I would not have been able to catch up with current developments."
In 2007, GeiOn successfully applied to work as a driving instructor in Police Driving School in order to continue exploring for new challenges. He worked in the "Two-Wheel Section", teaching his colleagues at different ranks the theories and techniques of motorcycle driving.
"The happiest thing was working out teaching strategies with other instructors to help trainees acquire skills according to their different levels." One big challenge for him was teaching those trainees not even able to ride a bicycle to master balancing and ultimately all the techniques of motorcycle driving.
GeiOn's 10-year posting to the Sha Tin District AIT was the most unforgettable experience. The first case he handled independently was a chain collision involving 11 vehicles. "In those days, I had to get to the traffic scenes or hospitals quickly and handle filing work and enquires in office. Very often, I had no time for meal and calling it a day on time was out of the question." However, with the help of his supervisor, he gradually pulled through that difficult time and got his job done.
"There were gains behind pain. I learned how to work independently. I also overcame my phobia of writing, developed in my childhood, after writing so many investigation reports."
While in his early thirties, GeiOn worked hard for promotion but eventually failed to advance to a higher rank. He said he did not take his failure too seriously and came to terms with what fate gave him. Never feeling defeated, he actively looked for those posts that would suit his ability and interest. For him, promotion is not everything and he cherishes other important things of his life - family and health.
Epilogue
GeiOn has impressed us with his perseverance in facing difficulties, his light-heartedness in facing a lack of promotion and openness as a father. He is by no means an ordinary individual - rich inside and happy. When asked about his motto, he told us: "Be brave to explore, be positive to challenges, and strive for improvement." Our advice for him after hearing his stories is: "Instead of focusing on what you don't have, treasure and build on what you already have."
GeiOn
loves
his
job