Home
» City specials
» Hangzhou
Cyber cop serving community
By Xu Wenwen |
January 19, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FROM publicizing new laws to providing security tips, even the police are using the Internet to help them do their job. Xu Wenwen meets one particular police officer making a difference with his popular online presence.
Finishing his day's work, policeman Xu Jie of West Lake Wenxin Police Station adapts a recent case into the latest "Police Office Diary" and posts it on Xu Jie Online Police Room, an online forum on Hangzhou.com.cn.
In the diary, the 27-year-old does not only relay the facts of the story, but inspires readers to think.
"It's ridiculous to see a couple fight simply because the man dripped oil from his kebab onto the woman's pants," the policeman wrote. "How can a modern couple's mutual trust be so weak?
"Knowing the old lady has been dead for one week, but no one was aware until the neighbor detected a strange smell, I mused for a very long while," he wrote in another diary posting. "The case raises the social question of how to support old people."
There are many similar posts, some are written thoughtfully, while others are humorous.
A policeman of this kind is a far cry from the stereotype of cops who are supposed to be strict and serious, and Xu is even more so since he also has a sunny nature, a handsome appearance and excellent dancing skills (he won second prize in a local Latin dance contest).
This versatile policeman was recently honored as one of Hangzhou's Top 10 People-Oriented Policemen.
People-oriented is Xu's motto and the virtual police office is his way to contact more people in the community he serves.
Established last June, it aims to further the communication between citizens and the police, and is named after Xu instead of the police station to make it more approachable.
Xu was transferred to West Lake Wenxin Police Station to take care of the security of Wulian Community last March. After several months in the post, he noticed the relationship between the police and citizens was not that smooth.
"Though the policemen work hard, the effort is not mutual and sometimes people even misunderstand us," said Xu. "I concluded that it was not because we don't do enough or are ineffective, but because there wasn't enough communication between police and citizens."
The virtual office aims to reduce the awkwardness between the two parties.
On the online platform, Xu and his colleagues have three things to do: update their "Police Office Diary," publicize new policies and laws, and answer netizens' questions.
The diaries are comprised of cases from West Lake Wenxin Police Station, ranging from minor matters to criminal cases, "which are all great examples that can be used to popularize laws or influence people," said Xu.
For example, in a suicide case, a woman hanged herself because she had long suspected her husband was having an affair although he never admitted it. Since they quarreled frequently and the man kept coming home very late, she eventually ended her life by hanging herself with a scarf. Since then, the man has shown a lot of regret and said he would give everything to get his wife's life back.
"Cherish what you have, so you won't feel regret when you lose it," Xu commented at the end of the story, which triggered a heated discussion online.
Though netizens' opinions varied, some said the woman was irresponsible to leave her child, while others reckoned the man didn't honor his responsibility to take care of the family.
"The virtual office is a great channel to demonstrate to people the huge amount of work we do," he added. "People think police are only there to catch thieves, but we play the role of peacemaker, scout, firemanand psychologist."
So far, the virtual police office has already had more than 9,000 posts after seven months' operation, involving not only the diaries but Q&As between netizens and police, as well as the latest policies issued by the government.
Being honored as a Hangzhou People-Oriented Policeman, Xu's good work has spread throughout the community, which is an old suburban area with a high crime rate.
The young policeman found poor security in the area derived from a lack of safety awareness among residents, who are mostly migrant workers.
So he visited every household to demonstrate how to take precautions against burglars and gave them burglar-proof padlocks. Months later, the crime rate decreased by 30 percent.
But Xu thinks he has only just started. This year, he and the police station are going to perfect the team who post threads online, in order to enrich the content. He also plans to educate local home owners on how to take precautions against thieves.
Finishing his day's work, policeman Xu Jie of West Lake Wenxin Police Station adapts a recent case into the latest "Police Office Diary" and posts it on Xu Jie Online Police Room, an online forum on Hangzhou.com.cn.
In the diary, the 27-year-old does not only relay the facts of the story, but inspires readers to think.
"It's ridiculous to see a couple fight simply because the man dripped oil from his kebab onto the woman's pants," the policeman wrote. "How can a modern couple's mutual trust be so weak?
"Knowing the old lady has been dead for one week, but no one was aware until the neighbor detected a strange smell, I mused for a very long while," he wrote in another diary posting. "The case raises the social question of how to support old people."
There are many similar posts, some are written thoughtfully, while others are humorous.
A policeman of this kind is a far cry from the stereotype of cops who are supposed to be strict and serious, and Xu is even more so since he also has a sunny nature, a handsome appearance and excellent dancing skills (he won second prize in a local Latin dance contest).
This versatile policeman was recently honored as one of Hangzhou's Top 10 People-Oriented Policemen.
People-oriented is Xu's motto and the virtual police office is his way to contact more people in the community he serves.
Established last June, it aims to further the communication between citizens and the police, and is named after Xu instead of the police station to make it more approachable.
Xu was transferred to West Lake Wenxin Police Station to take care of the security of Wulian Community last March. After several months in the post, he noticed the relationship between the police and citizens was not that smooth.
"Though the policemen work hard, the effort is not mutual and sometimes people even misunderstand us," said Xu. "I concluded that it was not because we don't do enough or are ineffective, but because there wasn't enough communication between police and citizens."
The virtual office aims to reduce the awkwardness between the two parties.
On the online platform, Xu and his colleagues have three things to do: update their "Police Office Diary," publicize new policies and laws, and answer netizens' questions.
The diaries are comprised of cases from West Lake Wenxin Police Station, ranging from minor matters to criminal cases, "which are all great examples that can be used to popularize laws or influence people," said Xu.
For example, in a suicide case, a woman hanged herself because she had long suspected her husband was having an affair although he never admitted it. Since they quarreled frequently and the man kept coming home very late, she eventually ended her life by hanging herself with a scarf. Since then, the man has shown a lot of regret and said he would give everything to get his wife's life back.
"Cherish what you have, so you won't feel regret when you lose it," Xu commented at the end of the story, which triggered a heated discussion online.
Though netizens' opinions varied, some said the woman was irresponsible to leave her child, while others reckoned the man didn't honor his responsibility to take care of the family.
"The virtual office is a great channel to demonstrate to people the huge amount of work we do," he added. "People think police are only there to catch thieves, but we play the role of peacemaker, scout, firemanand psychologist."
So far, the virtual police office has already had more than 9,000 posts after seven months' operation, involving not only the diaries but Q&As between netizens and police, as well as the latest policies issued by the government.
Being honored as a Hangzhou People-Oriented Policeman, Xu's good work has spread throughout the community, which is an old suburban area with a high crime rate.
The young policeman found poor security in the area derived from a lack of safety awareness among residents, who are mostly migrant workers.
So he visited every household to demonstrate how to take precautions against burglars and gave them burglar-proof padlocks. Months later, the crime rate decreased by 30 percent.
But Xu thinks he has only just started. This year, he and the police station are going to perfect the team who post threads online, in order to enrich the content. He also plans to educate local home owners on how to take precautions against thieves.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
