A woman is stopped and searched by police near Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, June 4, 2021. EPA-Yonhap

The 2019 social unrest in Hong Kong may have soured relations between the public and police, but for Jeff Wong Lok-ching, it prompted him to join the force despite his family expressing concerns and friends cutting ties.

"I did not give up the idea of joining the police force because I believe that through my hard work and dedication, I can bring a positive impact to society," said the 28-year-old, now a fresh graduate inspector from the Police College.

He was among 192 officers — 34 inspectors and 158 constables — who completed 36 weeks of training at the college this week, becoming part of the growing number of locals choosing to pursue a career in law enforcement.

Before Wong attended the police college, he was investigating financial crimes at a multinational bank. He had also earned a master's degree in criminology in the United Kingdom.

The city's chaos marked a key turning point that "deeply unsettled" him, Wong said.

"Born into a police family, I deeply understand the harm caused by violence, which not only destroys social peace but also tortures everyone's soul," he said.

Wong's family expressed concerns about his decision to join the force as it was not an easy job. The unstable social situation in 2019 and tensions that arose between police and residents added to their concerns, he said.

But Wong saw it as his duty to ease that tension.

"I will listen carefully to what opinions [residents] have about us," Wong said. "I will try my best to cooperate with them, and do my job well."

Constable Leung Wai-shing also wanted to improve the relationship between police and residents in the wake of the turmoil.

Hong Kong citizens hold protest against the extradition bill in front of the Hong Kong Police Headquarters in Hong Kong, June, 2019. AFP-Yonhap

"After experiencing the social events in 2019, I feel filled with sadness and anger," Leung said. "I hope that after joining the police force, I can protect other people, including my own family, maintain and uphold law and order."

Leung graduated from Jinan University in Guangzhou in mainland China, majoring in French. His last job was as a member of ground staff at the airport, where tackling daily incidents for passengers was greatly satisfying, Leung said.

"I want to join the police because I can help more people," he said, adding that there should be more platforms or activities where police and residents can communicate with each other to "eliminate misunderstandings."

Another constable, Wong Ching-yi, 28, was a dancer at two Disneyland theme parks before joining the police. Having performed ballet for 15 years, she was exhausted from the repetitiveness of her work at the parks and wanted a fresh start, she said.

"Teacher, dance troupe member, and dancer at Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland — I have done them all. I feel I have done a lot in this field in my youth and hope my future life can be more exciting, so I decided to join the police," she explained.

But dancing since she was a child had honed her willpower, stress tolerance and ability to work in a team, she added.

"Dancer and police officer are similar to me," Wong said. "The reactivity, team communication skills and teamwork spirit that I learned from dancing helped my training at the college to become a Hong Kong police officer."

To deal with manpower shortages, the force in May removed height and weight requirements for recruitment and introduced its own English and Chinese-language tests for candidates who had failed the subjects in public exams.

Police data showed that application numbers had increased since the relaxation of requirements, with the force receiving 6,798 applications for both inspectors and constables between April and October this year, up from 6,684 in the same period last year.

Hirings also increased, with 633 inspectors and constables recruited in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year, a 32 percent year-on-year increase from 479 recruits.

As of November 1, there were 6,612 vacancies in the police, according to the Security Bureau.

The starting monthly salary for a constable is about HK$28,000 ($3,580). Inspectors earn about HK$50,000.

Read the full story at SCMP.