Wang ‘accidentally’ became a policewoman

Wang Qi was born in Qingdao, Shandong province in 1981. In August 2003, she went to pursue further studies in Australia, first at a China-Australia joint venture school, and then at University of South Australia and University of Queensland, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management and a master’s degree in Translation.

When studying translation at the University of Queensland, the school invited local police to give Chinese students a lecture about how to protect themselves and teach skills of self-defense, with Wang acting as an interpreter.

Wang had dreamed about becoming a police officer ever since she was a little girl, so she paid great attention to the lecture. Her interpretation was full of passion, which left a deep impression on the police officers present.

After the lecture, one of the police officers asked Wang: “Do you want to become a police woman in Australia?” Wang replied that she did.

In the second half of 2007, after graduating from the University of Queensland, Wang registered herself into a local police school. And in August 2008, she officially became a police officer in Australia.

Wang took initiative to patrol the China Town area

Many foreigners have joined the police force in Australia, such as people from Canada, Great Britain, Korea and Japan. Wang explains the appeal: “In Australia, there are people from various countries living there, and some cases inevitably involve people from other countries, where some even don’t speak English. Therefore, it would be easier and more convenient for the police to communicate with people if a diversified police team is organized.”

After becoming a police officer, Wang took the initiative to apply for patrolling the China Town area where Chinese people are concentrated. “I hope I can do something for Chinese people living here in Australia,” Wang said.

Australian police work in three shifts—the morning shift, afternoon shift and night shift. Daily work involves patrolling the streets on foot, patrolling in cars, registering cases in the police bureau and handing out fines. Wang said in Australia, police officers also belong to the team of civil servants, and their salaries stay at a medium level.

Experiencing the taste of pepper spray

Twenty to thirty percent of Australian’s police officers are female. These female officers have to carry nine kilogram’s of equipment with them while patrolling the streets, such as guns, pepper spray, a baton, handcuffs, a backup cartridge clip, gloves and even tape recorders. Police officers are commonly equipped with tape recorders so they can “record the process of cases in order to protect ourselves as evidence,” according to Wang.

Wang is 172 cm and 53 kg, which is a bit slim for such a height, and hauling around nine kilos of equipment can be a bit hard for her. “I patrolled with nine kilos of equipment once for eight hours and I almost fell down when I finally got home,” Wang said, adding, “I am trying to gain weight in order to gain more strength.”

During her first four months’ on the job, Wang never used her gun. “Some people have been police officers for decades, but they never used their guns either. However, we usually practice our shooting skills,” Wang explained.

Another weapon, pepper spray, is indispensable for Australian police officers. “Sometimes during patrol, when I see some tall and strong foreign guys fighting, I usually take out the pepper spray. They stop fighting when they see it,” Wang said.

Wang has even had a taste of pepper spray, having been exposed to it while studying at police school. “The teacher told us to spray each other with it. It was so hot that none of us could open our eyes, which hurt for three hours. The pepper spray even chocked [us].”

By Li Jing