By Su Jie and Yang Dan
　　
　　Profile:
　　Zhang Haixia, born in October 1978, is a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and has been serving in law enforcement since 2002. She currently holds the rank of Second Class Superintendent at the Renminlu Police Station of the Shizuishan Municipal Public Security Bureau in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, where she specializes in community policing.
　　Awards and honors: the National March 8th Red-banner Pacesetter, National Outstanding Individual in Safeguarding the Rights of Women and Children, National Outstanding Individual in Public Security, National Outstanding Female Police Officer, and the May Day Labor Medal awarded by the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. She has also been recognized multiple times as an Outstanding Communist Party Member and Exemplary Civil Servant, and has been awarded a Second-Class Individual Merit Citation.
　　In the streets and alleys of Dawukou District, Shizuishan City, Ningxia, residents often spot a familiar figure in uniform. Sometimes she stoops to listen attentively to an elderly resident’s ramblings, sometimes discusses anti-fraud tips with shopkeepers, and other times guides teenagers in identifying simulated drug models. This is Zhang Haixia, a veteran officer with 15 years of experience in community policing.
　　Over the course of 22 years – from the 110 emergency command center to the criminal investigation unit, from the frontlines of anti-drug work to neighborhood patrols – Zhang has honed a broad skill set, earning the community’s trust through her work as a guardian of public safety, a leader in fraud prevention, and an advocate against drugs. Like a caring aunt, Zhang Haixia has stitched the many strands of community governance with her single guiding needle – her unwavering commitment to the public. With care and attention to people’s everyday needs, she has helped build a safe and harmonious community.

　　Walking the talk as well as the beat
　　The heart of community policing is people, and Zhang Haixia’s secret is treating the neighborhood like home, getting to know every street and household as if it were her own.
　　"Since Haixia arrived, our neighborhood has truly lived up to its name – ’Wenjing’ (’civil and quiet’)", said Granny Li, a resident of Wenjing Neighborhood, as she stroke Zhang Haixia’s hand between her palms and sunshine blossomed across her face.
　　Granny Li’s smile spoke volumes about her appreciation for Zhang Haixia’s work. The model Community, where she lives, spans 2.47 square kilometers and is divided into six administrative grids. Home to over 3,700 residents, the area features many old, single-story houses, open access without gates or security personnel, and a highly mobile population – about 90 percent are non-permanent residents living in rental housing. These conditions have long posed challenges for public safety. Around 2013, Granny Li’s daughter-in-law had four bicycles stolen in a short span. "One electric bike was gone after just four rides..." Granny Li said, her voice heavy with frustration, anger and helplessness.
　　When Zhang Haixia was assigned to the Wenming Community Police Office in 2015, residents were initially skeptical and uncooperative. To win their trust, she voluntarily took on the additional role of Deputy Secretary of the Community Party Branch, working closely with local committee members to engage the community. She recruited civic intelligence nodes through resident networks and launched the "Good Neighbor Mobile Watch," a volunteer patrol team that conducted over 700 patrols in a year. As a result, crime dropped by 50%, and the neighborhood transformed from a place once troubled and chaotic into one that feels safe, orderly, and is trusted by its residents.
　　"Now, you almost never hear of any theft – we really feel safe and happy!" Grannny Li said proudly, giving Zhang Haixia a big thumbs up.
　　 After 15 years in community policing, Zhang Haixia has developed a philosophy that she calls the "Four Diligences and Four Hearts:" walk, ask, take notes, and listen, with a heart that is sincere, warm, meticulous, and patient. She puts these principles into practice every day: visiting 30 households daily, she has created a "community sentiment map" marking the homes of elderly people living alone and families facing difficulties. She has set up "community feedback points" in corner shops to detect early signs of potential issues. Attuned to the smallest matters affecting residents’ lives, she records incidents like frozen water pipes and disturbances from pets – 237 such small matters in total – in her "Peace Diary." She has also pioneered "evening tea chats," offering a warm, informal setting to hear the needs of rental tenants who have returned home from work.
　　Granny Yu lives alone and was losing sleep over strange noises behind her small shop. Zhang Haixia kept night watch for a week and discovered the culprit – stray cats going through clutter near the back window. She swiftly installed security bars and swapped in a sound-activated light that would turn on at any noise, helping Ms. Yu rest easier. She also took on grocery runs. "When pipes freeze or a neighbor’s dog causes trouble, she’s always there. When I was in hospital, she even helped with my shop. She treats me better than a daughter will!" Ms. Yu says proudly.
　　Thanks to Zhang Haixia’s efforts, the once-troubled area has become a model of civility, with neighborhood disputes down 72% and zero burglaries reported. Her "Four Diligences and Four Hearts" approach has been adopted into Ningxia’s official community policing training program.

　　Keeping Residents’ Finances Safe with innovative Technology
　　 In August 2024, during a routine home visit, Zhang Haixia noticed that a Ms. Xu looked flustered while taking a call from abroad. Upon further inquiry, she learned that Xu’s son, Xiao Li, had responded to a job posting on a recruitment website claiming for a programmer position at a Southeast Asian tech company, with a promised salary of 50,000 RMB per month. Xiao Li was already in contact with a headhunter to arrange his departure. Zhang Haixia’s follow-up investigation uncovered a scam: under the guise of "free meals and lodging" and "no experience required," the recruiter demanded a 20,000 RMB placement fee. The account involved had already been flagged by authorities as high-risk.
　　Zhang Haixia immediately sat down with Xiao Li and showed him real-life cases of victims Ma and Xiao, who were rescued by Ningxia police in 2023. They had been lured to northern Myanmar by promises of high-paying factory jobs, only to find themselves trapped in a telecom fraud compound. When Xiao Li saw photos of the scars Ma had suffered during his captivity, his hands began to tremble with fear.
　　Thanks to Zhang Haixia’s patient and firm guidance, Xiao Li cut off all contact with the scammers. Later, at a community awareness meeting, he tearfully shared his close call: "That so-called tech park was a scam hub! Officer Zhang Haixia saved me."
　　To outsmart scammers, Zhang Haixia combines strategic thinking, legwork, and people skills. She has mobilized auxiliary police and volunteers, rallying community-wide support for anti-fraud awareness. At the heart of her efforts is a "three-pronged" defense system: targeted education through door-to-door outreach, early prevention via school-police coordination, and real-time scam alerts powered by technology.
　　For targeted education, Zhang Haixia created an anti-fraud "starter kit" for every business in her area, complete with a commitment letter, a case handbook, a hotline sticker, a tabletop reminder, and a fraud alert card, delivered by hand to each shop. She signed responsibility pledges with 246 merchants, turning cashier counters into mini anti-fraud stations. At delivery hubs, she posted fraud warnings on packages, turning parcels into mobile reminders.
　　For early prevention, she partnered with schools on the "Little Hands in Big Hands" campaign, encouraging students to create anti-fraud comics and giving awards for "Fraud Prevention Family Champions," engaging both children and parents in scam awareness.
　　For real-time detection, she manages over 30 WeChat groups across the community, sending daily scam alerts and timely police updates straight to residents’ phones.
　　In 2023, a Mr Zhang was moments away from wiring 50,000 RMB in a profit-sharing scam, when he saw Zhang Haixia’s warning card and called her. That same year, Wenming Community became Ningxia’s first "zero-case" community for telecom fraud.
　　From frontline arrests to quiet prevention, from drug enforcement to digital fraud defense, Zhang Haixia has spent 22 years embodying the many roles of a people’s police officer. Her story is not built on dramatic moments, but on small, steady acts: fixing frozen pipes, stopping scams mid-transfer, guiding addicts to new lives. As a sign in her office reads: "Treat small matters as big ones, and make community peace my lifelong mission." It is a belief shared by community officers across China: to stand firm every day and achieve extraordinary results through ordinary acts.■
　　
　　(Translated by Han Yu and Shao He. Han Yu is a translation student at Capital Normal University; Shao He is a faculty member at the same institution.)