Becoming police officers and serving the public is the wish of many people. Such aspiration even runs in many families, creating one after another “family of police officers”. This issue of OffBeat interviewed a one-in-a-million duo, of which the father and daughter attended the Police College and underwent the Probationary Inspector Foundation Training at the same time.

27-year-old Cynthia grew up in Police Married Quarters. In her eyes, her father, who is a police officer, is “brilliant and knowledgeable”. Cynthia said her father attached great importance to discipline and was very strict with her. Even during summer vacation, her father would ask her to draw up timetables to make sure she did her homework and revision. Inheriting her father’s sense of discipline and righteousness, Cynthia applied to join the Force as a Police Constable when she was a Secondary Seven graduate in 2013.

Simon, Cynthia’s father, is 51 years old and has been serving in the Force for 32 years. In 2007, he got promoted to the rank of Station Sergeant. Having worked in departments including the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau and the Criminal Intelligence Bureau, Simon leads by example in everything he does, in order to be a role model for his children. As a seasoned police officer, he originally had no plans to become an Inspector. However, for the sake of his daughter, he had a change of heart.

“Ever since Cynthia joined the Force, she had been striving to become an Inspector, by completing a bachelor’s degree programme and training actively to boost her fitness. Last year, she was even accepted to become a Probationary Inspector. In order to encourage Cynthia, I told her that as long as I was willing to work hard, I could become an Inspector and graduate from the training as well. As father and daughter, we could march together to reach an even greater goal.”

Although Simon is armed with a wealth of experience, he is over 50 years old after all. Therefore, tests including those on fitness did pose a challenge to him. In the past, his daughter was the one turning to him for pointers on policing. Now, the tables have turned, as he is the one asking his daughter for tips on acing exams. Eventually, Simon got recommended to train in the Police College via the Selected Appointment Scheme, to become a Probationary Inspector.

Since she had to receive a total of 36 weeks of training, Cynthia started her drills in the middle of last year, while Simon started his in January this year, still in time to be classmates with his daughter for a short while. He gleefully recalled, “When I first reported for duty, the instructor, in accordance with procedure, arranged for students who were about to pass out from the Police College to teach new students how to put on their uniforms. Cynthia happened to be assigned to be my instructor, and when she helped me adjust my epaulette, it was a heartwarming moment and she did me proud.”

Simon and Cynthia have different takeaways from their training to become Inspectors. Cynthia believes the course has provided rigorous training to bolster her self-confidence as well as ability to conduct analyses and make decisions, standing her in good stead when it comes to managing her team in future. Having been a Station Sergeant for over 10 years, Simon’s experience in working on the front line is indisputable. However, completing the avalanche of assignments and memorising legal provisions in English were no mean feat for him.

Following previous social turmoil, Simon and Cynthia share a wish, which is to do their utmost to safeguard the Hong Kong community. They said in unison, “This sense of mission further motivates us to improve ourselves ceaselessly.”