Shortly before proceeding on his pre-retirement leave on September 11, Director of Management Services (DMS) Mike Dowie said he was "happy and satisfied" with his 37-year career with the Force. And he pointed out that he had such feelings even in his last working week.

Even with the approach of the handover of sovereignty in 1997, Mr Dowie had never seriously considered quitting the Force. "I made up my mind to stay on for a combination of reasons, and it was quite an easy decision. Former CP Eddie Hui encouraged me to stay on, and my wife didn't want to go. I went to the Mainland on official duties on many occasions, and took a great interest in the rapid changes taking place there. I saw the changes as a good sign of the things to come after the handover," he explained.

Since the handover, Mr Dowie has advanced from Chief Superintendent to his present rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner. He has spent over 20 years of his police career in the crime stream, and has derived a lot of job satisfaction from cracking a variety of major cases. In the old days, he was so tough with criminals and his approach to crimes was so down to business that the underworld called him "Gadaffi", according to the CID officers who worked with Mr Dowie in the past.

Shortly after completing training in the former PTS, Mr Dowie got a foretaste of what CID jobs could offer when he worked with the Vice Squad of Yau Ma Tei. He loved the work and moved on to his first CID posting in Wong Tai Sin in 1974. He admitted being a "workaholic" at the time, getting results, and always motivating his CID colleagues to do their best.

While treasuring the experiences of older CID officers, Mr Dowie looked for younger officers to share his drive and determination for CID work. So he asked for, and managed to get, younger officers to help him out. In motivating his subordinates, Mr Dowie had the benefit of valuable advice from his father, a now retired police officer in Edinburgh. The senior Mr Dowie took a great interest in the development of his son's career with the Force, and made several trips to Hong Kong to see how he was getting on, the last trip being in March this year.

First exciting case

His next posting as Officer-in-Charge of CID in Kwun Tong brought him great job satisfaction in tackling major cases and, at the same time, commanding different investigating teams.

As he advanced in his CID career, Mr Dowie handled more and more major cases, including those related to triads, drugs and robberies committed by the notorious "Big Circle Gangs". He had the "hardest and most challenging job" when he was Divisional Detective Inspector of Kwun Tong. The proliferation of villages made up of wooden huts and inhabited by a large number of immigrants from the Mainland posed many major law and order problems for both uniform and CID officers. The problems were compounded by the fact that many criminals were using the villages as hideouts.

The Vietnamese Refugee Camp in nearby Kai Tak was also a major concern for the Police. After serious riots broke out in the open camp in 1983, Mr Dowie and his men had a hard time investigating the incidents and bringing the ringleaders to justice. "I still remember a ringleader picked up a baby and threw it at us when running away. Luckily the baby was caught and was unharmed," said Mr Dowie.

Death threats

Mr Dowie also worked in the Criminal Intelligence Bureau when officers had a busy time grappling with robberies involving AK 47 and grenades as well as kidnap cases. He cited a case to show how intelligence gathering had contributed to cracking a kidnap in Canada.

"In that case a Chinese was kidnapped in Vancouver, Canada. The kidnappers asked the victim's family in Taiwan to pay ransom in Hong Kong. Eventually, we caught two accomplices shortly after they boarded a plane for Canada with the ransom," said Mr Dowie. He emphasised that officers pulled off very good results in cracking kidnap cases in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s.

Key changes

"We recognised our social responsibilities, not simply law enforcement. We're part of society. We have to listen to the public, to know what the public want, and to give it to them. We have to change quickly. One of the things for any organisation to be successful is to recognise the need for change and deal with it. It's better to introduce changes early rather than drag our feet," Mr Dowie added.

Mr Dowie observes that the Force is currently subject to intense scrutiny by the public and the mass media, and public questioning of our use of authority keeps rising. For him, this means one thing - the public are exercising their rights. Mr Dowie advises Force members that although scrutiny and hindsight are intense, they must remain "passionate and positive" about their jobs.

Noting that the Force is often regarded as "the agency of last resort", Mr Dowie asks members of the public to appreciate that "Police can't do everything, and there are limitations. We're not angels; nor are we robots." He urged the public to display understanding of the difficulty and complexity of policing.

Speaking of his retirement life, Mr Dowie said he would keep himself busy doing the things he wants to do. This includes his services as Executive Director of Operation Breakthrough, a project run by officers in their free time to steer youth-at-risk away from crime through sports and positive interaction. Next on his list of priorities is continued association with the Kowloon Cricket Club; lawn bowls and teaching English to disadvantaged kids.

OffBeat wishes Mr Dowie a happy retirement.

Mr Dowie received the OBE in Buckingham Palace in 2004

Mr and Mrs Dowie celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 2000