Award-winning police officer goes beyond call of duty
Print Edition
ZHOU Xuxiang has revealed she is much more than just a custodian of the peace. The community police officer in northwest Shanghai’s Putuo District received an award from the Ministry of Public Security last month for making her community safe for 12 years.
And while law enforcement may be her priority, the 54-year-old has revealed to be just as adept as a music teacher and doctor.
“We women police officers are not only counted on to solve crimes, but we have a way with people which enables us to work efficiently as well,” Zhou says.
The residential area known as Wangjiajing, which is surrounded by Jiaotong Road, Jinghui Road, Yanchang Road W. and Zhidan Road in Ganquan subdistrict, was an old neighborhood with buildings dating back to the 1980s.
Residents, some of whom had to hold an umbrella in hand when cooking in the kitchen due to drip drops from the rooftop, were tired of burglaries, bike thefts, ill-tempered neighbors and even family members whom they shared a cramped apartment with.
Zhou remembers a burglary victim coming to see her while in tears a few years ago, complaining that she felt there were human shadows all over her apartment.
“Public safety means safety for everyone, but a crime which hits one person hits everybody,” she says.
To raise safety awareness among the residents, Zhou, a skilled accordion player, initiated the first residents’ amateur choir at Wangjiajing. The 30-strong ensemble, would sing popular songs with adapted lyrics to remind tenants to close windows before going to sleep and being aware of telecom scammers.
Jiang Aiying, who is the leader of the choir and a former community safety official at the Wangjiajing grassroots government, says Zhou’s idea works.
“Our choir includes retired people who would otherwise be gossiping among each other. Instead, this makes them spread information of public interest,” Jiang says.
Along with the choir, Wangjiajing now has also hobby groups of people playing string and folk instruments, writing calligraphy, playing chess, exercising tai chi and sharing books.
Zhou is also known to have a special “bond” with a mentally challenged boy who lives in this community.
The boy, who lives with his elderly parents, behaves violently sometimes, but Zhou says he became very fond of her when they first met, calling her “Mama Xiang.”
The boy’s family rings her up whenever he becomes grumpy. He’s even been known to ask for her on a Chinese New Year’s Eve, and Zhou keeps coming back to him.
“I consider caring for those in need as an important part of my job because it helps grow the neighborhood spirit of inclusiveness and responsibility,” Zhou says.
Like all other police officers who serve residential communities, Zhou is 24/7 standby at calls from all residents and responses to their needs.
Dai Jumei, a former resident at Wangjiajing, says she was so grateful when Zhou helped settle a real estate trading dispute for her family that she returned the favor by helping her out with some volunteer work every week.
Dai is also unofficially one of the community “informers” for Zhou. She takes complaints from the residents and this helps take preventive measures to remove safety threats.
Personal friendship with the residents has facilitated Zhou’s job at the community, and a telltale instance is in smashing illegal constructions in residential complexes, which was once a big headache for the grassroots government.
The illegal constructions of a roofed garden or a shed attached to a building not only caused disagreements between the residents, but they were also a fire hazard. Yet most residents were against taking them down when Zhou first came to work at the community.
“The residents used to gather around behind me with skeptic looks, damning at me, when the law enforcers came,” she recalls. “But now many more stand next to me voicing support to justice and public good.”
Chen Qi, a young woman who heads the Wangjiajing grassroots government, says she and her colleagues now make use of Zhou’s popularity among the residents when dealing with tough situations.
“When Zhou wasn’t with us and we had to go alone, the residents usually just complied because they know that they would have to do so if she had been there anyway,” Chen says.
Rong Yu, a property manager of the Youyang company which operates in Wangjiajing, says Zhou’s influence among the residents is very impressive.
“I’ve never known a community police officer whom almost everyone in the neighborhood knows this well and loves,” he says.
Last year, Wangjiajing had for the first time a clean burglary record in all its residential complexes.
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