“Earn your leadership every day” – so says a quote pasted above AC Justin Wong’s desk, reminding him to strive to do better each day, for his family and the officers he leads.
By: Christabelle Lim
Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Justin Wong is no stranger to Police Life, as we covered his role as the Police Day Parade Commander in 2022. We recently caught up with AC Wong, now Commander of Bedok Police Division in the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and here are his hard-won lessons from his policing career, in his own words.
Nerves of Steel in the CNU
I joined the SPF in 2007. Prior to my posting as Commander of Bedok Police Division in 2022, I was the Assistant Director (AD) of the Major Crime Division (MCD) in the Criminal Investigation Department.
Since 2011, I’ve also been part of the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU), which comprises officers trained in negotiations for criminal and terrorist hostage situations. CNU officers hold their appointments concurrently with their primary posting. On a day-to-day basis, we respond to barricaded incidents and suicide intervention cases when activated.
I recall my first CNU activation after completing my training, I was called to a construction site regarding a salary dispute. It was a blazing hot day and I was in my office wear. The subject had climbed up a crane that was ten storeys high! We used a loudhailer to call out to him at first, but we couldn’t hear any of his responses, so we decided to get closer to him.
I rolled up my sleeves and up the crane I went, wearing a hard hat and a harness. Thankfully, we managed to persuade him to come down to safety.
Today, a condominium resides on that site. I’m reminded that as Police officers, for each place we go to, we have a story to tell; an incident to recount.
A Passion for Investigations
Investigations was what first drew me to policing. The sense of satisfaction we get every time when we manage to find out what happened in a case and who did it – that’s something that continues to energise me.
The MCD has two investigative branches: the Special Investigation Section, which handles murder and firearms cases, as well as other major or sensitive cases; and the Serious Sexual Crime Branch, which conducts investigations into aggravated sexual crime.
As AD MCD, one of my focus areas was enhancing the SPF’s response to sexual crime investigations. Thus, we laid the ground work for the formation of the Sexual Crime and Family Violence Command (SFC), with officers specifically trained to deal with sexual crime and family violence cases. Today, I am heartened to see the excellent work that SFC is doing to combat this area of crime.
Another priority was strengthening the support for our officers handling these cases. Sometimes, investigations into serious sexual crime, child abuse and murder cases can have a heavy mental toll. So, it was important to ensure that our officers’ mental health was being looked after. I am grateful to the Police Psychological Services Department, the Training and Capability Development Department and Manpower Department for the Wellness in Policing measures that are now in place to support our officers.
Leadership is a Privilege
As Commander of Bedok Police Division, I oversee about 1,100 officers working to ensure the safety of over 900,000 residents. There are six Neighbourhood Police Centres in our Division, and every day is dynamic and bustling, with major venues such as the Singapore Sports Hub drawing crowds of more than 50,000 people for a single concert. In fact, for the recent Taylor Swift concerts, we saw more than 300,000 concert-goers from around the region over six nights in March this year.
Our time in any leadership role is finite and we have to make the most of it. That’s what resonated with me when I first came across the quote “Earn your leadership every day.”
It’s a constant reminder to myself to do justice to the good work of our officers – to recognise their efforts, support them when they need help and, as a Division, strive to make things better for those we serve each day.
On Finding the Right Balance
I think it’s important to have something outside of work that you do for yourself.
I tried meditation and journal writing, but I could never stick to them.
One of the things I find myself going back to is running. I’ve come to realise that that is my form of meditation, as it gives me space to reflect and centre myself.
On the home front, my wife and parents have been my pillars of support. That’s the balance I strive to maintain: to do my best at work with my fellow officers, but to never forget that my family commitments. That’s why I think it’s important to intentionally create space for our officers to spend protected time with their families.
I was particularly heartened at our recent Family Day event, which our officers and their families came together to celebrate. I was very glad to be able to meet and thank many families in person for the sacrifices they make and the support they give to our officers!
Purpose in the Journey
The camaraderie, team spirit and the fact that we’re all in this together – that’s what stayed with me throughout my 17 years in the Force. I’m very glad to be able to make a difference in people’s lives, and I want to continue doing so.
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