A Heart-warming Checkpoint

Profile：

Zhang Ku， born in May 1970 and a member of the Communist Party of China， now serves as a senior police chief of a checkpoint. He joined the police force in 1989 and has since worked with the Fangshan branch of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau on many posts， from a neighborhood police officer to police station deputy director， from the police station political commissar to checkpoint chief. During his career as a police officer， he has been awarded with many medals of merit and the honorary titles of hero and role model of the national public security system for his personal accomplishments.

The Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway is one of the busiest thoroughfares into Beijing. Many criminal attempts to sneak into the capital city fail at the Doudian checkpoint. Zhang is the chief of the checkpoint， and he has been guarding the station since its inception. Under his leadership over the past seven years， the police force of the checkpoint has arrested more than 3，200 criminal suspects， seized over 7，600 grams of drugs and more than 8，000 pieces of prohibited items， and lent a helping hand to more passengers than one can count.

These achievements are the result of Zhang's day-to-day diligence and dedication. He always puts himself into the public's shoes to serve and safeguard passengers， turning what seems to be a simple and dull security check into an inspiring calling and a service that warms the heart of the public.

Guarding the Gateway to Beijing

Zhang Ku has devoted all his efforts to the erection and improvement of the checkpoint， which was initially staffed by only four regular police officers and 20 auxiliary officers. Education of team members， creation of posts， layout of equipment， definition of duties， and logistics support – all these tasks started from scratch， with each one mulled over again and again in his mind. Influenced by his hard work and dedication， the entire staff of the checkpoint also fulfilled their duties with meticulous care. On the principle of warding off the entry of any unsafe factors into Beijing， they worked hard to sharpen their detective eyes， braving the elements and standing the test of pressing， crucial， dangerous tasks.

Regular inspections appear to be simple， but the task involves various efforts to do the work well. It is firstly a major test of physical strength. To verify personal information， check items on board， and perform other duties， every officer has to run up and down the stairs of the checkpoint more than 10，000 times a day. Being on one's feet for long hours without rest has led  to various occupational diseases such as lumbar disc herniation， hemorrhoids， and scapulohumeral periarthritis. In addition， the checkpoint is always pervaded by vehicle exhaust emissions， which is worsened by clouds of dust when large vehicles pass by. In this environment， Zhang Ku squeezes into the traffic flow almost every day to ensure the check runs smoothly， leaving his face covered with a layer of dirt and dust after a hectic day. He also gives heed to the mental state of his team. He pays door-to-door visits to every member and has heart-to-heart conversations with them， and has launched a wide variety of activities and advised new diet for a change， in a bid to ensure that everyone on duty is in the very best of spirits， working in a good mood and performing their duties with due diligence.

After the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020， the Doudian public security checkpoint gave priority to the control of the pandemic.

How to ensure a safe and smooth traffic flow while protecting the front-line police officers from COVID-19 infection？ How to relieve the pressure that the heavy and risky workload put on them and their families？ How to  ensure sufficient supplies for the entire staff work around the clock？ How to deal with routine public affairs while meeting the special needs of passengers？ All these issues arose from nowhere and posed an unprecedented challenge to Zhang Ku. To ensure that "every vehicle and person must be inspected，"the checkpoint was confronted with a sharply increased workload， with the police officers exposed to a higher risk of infection.

To guarantee everything went well， he instructed his team members in proper inspection and control on the site every day and racked his brain for the solutions to traffic jam and higher work efficiency. Off duty， he spared no efforts to ensure the availability of enough police force for each shift. To prevent vehicles and passengers from missing inspections， he worked together with his colleagues to identify key hidden dangers lurked in the outer defense line， and optimized the work flow of check and control 18 times. He invited his team members to overhaul the equipment and facilities at the checkpoint. New measures put in place included earlier diversion of traffic flow， separation of cars and trucks onto different lanes， cross-departmental cooperation， and input of police force in tiers. At the same time， he took the initiative to connect with the Hebei police to carry out regional cooperation and establish a joint inspection mechanism featuring a division of labor for specific duties， information sharing， and emergency response. He also facilitated seamless coordination with transport and health departments in the police force， duties， work flow， measures， publicity， and pandemic prevention， dramatically enhancing their efficiency and capability in inspection and control.

In more than 900 days since the beginning of 2020， the Doudian public security checkpoint has inspected more than 7 million vehicles， delivering outstanding performance with "zero infections""zero errors"and "zero accidents."

Putting people first

Zhang Ku bears no tolerance for criminality， making every conceivable effort to boost his team's competence to detect and crack down on unlawful acts. By contrast， he shows great warmth for passengers， striving to innovate on their work by attending to details and inviting public opinions， turning the checkpoint into a heartwarming service station.