This issue of OffBeat spans over Mother's Day, and therefore we interview a police family filled with tender love. Jerry, who joined the Force in 1990, and her husband are both Station Sergeants. They have a son and a daughter. Their boy, 27-year-old Jeffery, has been an Inspector since his graduation from university. He is currently stationed at Traffic Kowloon West.

Jeffery’s deepest impression of his mother during his childhood was that they were staying away from each other more than coming together. “When I was a child, Mom had to work shifts and had very little time to spend with me. Even if I missed her, I couldn’t call her because she could hardly answer phone calls at work. So I had to wait silently for hers.” Jerry did her best to balance work and family. “My son was taken care mainly by his grandmother when he was a child. In order to meet him more often, my husband and I did not live in the Police quarters. Instead, we rented a flat near the place where Jeffery’s grandmother lived. We squeezed our free time to take care of him as much as possible. Sometimes, it was very late at night when I got home after work. No matter how tired I was, however, I insisted on checking his homework. After a few hours of rest, I would accompany Jeffery to school so that I could chat with him to boost our relationship.”

One childhood incident made Jeffery understand the meaning of his mother’s work, and inspired his aspiration to join the Force.

On August 9, 2007, when Jerry was stationed at Emergency Unit, she and her colleagues were handling a nuisance case. The drunken man suddenly attacked the officers at the scene with a knife. The sergeant fired three shots to subdue the drunken person, during which a stray bullet hit Jerry’s left leg. Jeffery recalled, “As a 12-year-old, I was very afraid that Mom would leave me forever since then. Fortunately, her life was not in danger. At that time, I wondered why Mom took such a dangerous job. Should she have not stayed firm in her duty, the one who had got hurt would have been a citizen. Mom returned to work shortly after her recovery. I took pride in her dedication to her duty, which inspired me to join the Force.”

Jeffery encountered the unlawful “occupy movement” when he was at university. He admitted that he had doubts about the law enforcement actions by the Force after being influenced by his classmates. His mother then made a rational analysis for him to understand the importance of abiding by the law. Immediately after graduation, he applied to be an Inspector and was successfully admitted in the first attempt. Jeffery graduated from the Police College in late 2018 and encountered the riot the following year. It was definitely a severe test for him. In terms of establishment, a Probationary Inspector usually has only one Station Sergeant to assist him. “I’m lucky to have two Station Sergeants at home to teach me all they know,” said Jeffery with a broad smile.

Only after joining the Force did Jeffery realise how difficult it was for his parents to cope with the heavy duties and care for him and his younger sister at the same time. His mother Jerry said, “Jeffery is still fresh in the job. I would give him 70 marks only for his work performance. However, he will seriously review each case after completing it. For such a positive attitude, I give him 100.”