Starting Point
Lieutenant Colonel Truong Thi Lieu, Deputy Head of Thanh Liet Commune Police, Thanh Tri District, is the only female team-level commander of the Hanoi City Police who has volunteered to go to the grassroots and carry out tasks, contributing to affirming the effectiveness of the model of "Regular Commune Police returning to the commune", creating an impression in the hearts of the people.
She said that immediately after being appointed and transferred to the commune, the unit quickly stabilised its organisation, arranging, organising, and assigning specific tasks according to the capacity and strengths of each officer and soldier. In addition, they built working regulations to implement tasks effectively. They also bear the responsibility of preventing security threats and creating positive changes in the security and order situation within the area.
Peace Journey
Talking about the days when she first returned to the area, Lt. Col. Lieu recalled that around the end of 2020, the People's Committee of Thanh Tri district arranged the forced land recovery for households and individuals in Van village, Thanh Liet commune, to build a resettlement area to serve the clearance of the Chu Van An Memorial Area and other projects in Thanh Tri district. Due to disagreement with the compensation price, many people were upset with the authorities. There was a period when people filed complaints at higher levels, causing security and order issues.
At the same time, the Ministry of Public Security launched the National Population Database Project and initiated the issuance of citizen identification cards with electronic chips. While carrying out the database project, she, along with officers and soldiers from Thanh Liet Commune Police, had to "go to every alley, knock on every door" to distribute forms for collecting population information, aiming to input data into the system.
As two programmes were implemented consecutively during a sensitive period for security and order, it caused confusion within society. There were days when the Commune Police and officers of the Grassroots Front Committee came to distribute the ballots, but many people refused to accept them. She stated that the people believed that distributing ballots to gather information about residents was meant to serve the government in completing land recovery procedures. She suggested that it was necessary to separate the collection of population information to serve the National Population Database Project and the land recovery. Therefore, they disseminated the information through the loudspeaker system, bulletin boards, and organised meetings at the cultural house to promote the benefits of the National Population Database project, so that people could clearly understand the issue.
Determining that they must visit every alley, knock on every door, and check thoroughly to ensure no household is left behind, Thanh Liet Commune Police assigned two officers who are Deputy Heads of the Commune Police and two soldiers to persistently mobilise and promote the campaign. From 3 pm to 10 pm, they are present in the area to distribute and collect ballots, then compare them with the original documents, and finally report to the Thanh Tri District Police to input the population data into the system. The working day usually ends around 3 or 4 am the following morning.
Regrettably, her dedication to her work has led to a personal loss. She emotionally recalled that when she was deployed for this project, it was also the time when the COVID-19 pandemic in the area was complicated. At that time, she was both fulfilling her professional duties and acting as a shield on the front line against the epidemic, which meant she was unable to return to burn incense for her mother on the anniversary of her mother's death. In an emotional moment, she wrote a poem that stated, “I will come back someday but not tomorrow”. The poem expresses the feelings and emotions of a child far from home when remembering the people who gave her life. At the same time, the poem also highlights the silent sacrifices of grassroots police officers.
Success stories
According to Lt. Col. Lieu, the most challenging part of such mass mobilisation work is gaining the trust of the people. She asserted that they must treat the people with sincerity so that the local people will follow and the police force can complete all assigned tasks. Through practical mass mobilisation work, the Commune Police gained insight into the family circumstances of special cases. To date, 100% of the population data has been collected, and 100% of citizens of citizen identification age have undergone the procedures to obtain a citizen identification card.