On January 25th, Rongrong and Xiaoqing mixed among the crowds in the waiting hall at Beijing West Railway Station. They were always vigilantly scanning the surrounding crowd. Rongrong was very good at braiding hair. Before they went into action, she helped Xiaoqing disguise herself by combing her hair. After the operation, Tan Jing and Li Dong, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, had a quiet conversation in the carriage. Li Dong and Tan Jing stood back-to-back in the train passage looking for pickpockets. Due to the train being full, they were often squeezed to the point of being unable to move an inch.
Time: January 18th - 27th
Location: Beijing West Railway Station, on the train
Scene: Beijing Railway Police Iron Eagle Operation
At 16:00 on January 18th, at Platform 9 of Beijing West Railway Station, Li Dong looked through the train window as the T231 locomotive slowly pulled into the station. Meanwhile, in the adjacent carriage, Tan Jing watched the K106's tail leave the station. Just an hour ago, Li Dong was still considering seeing off his wife Tan Jing on the platform, "It's been a long time since I've seen her, even if I could just carry her bag, it would be nice."
Li Dong looked regretfully at the departing T231. This was the third time they had narrowly missed each other during the Spring Festival travel rush.
To ensure the safety of passengers' property returning home during the Spring Festival, the Beijing Railway Police launched the Iron Eagle Operation. All anti-pickpocket members were deployed to crack down on theft in high incidence areas. Among them, there were 16 female anti-pickpocket officers on the front line, including several female police officers with frontline combat capabilities who were temporarily transferred from administrative roles.
At 16:00 on January 27th, Mr. and Mrs. Li Dong and Tan Jing finally had the opportunity to carry out anti-pickpocket duties on the same train. Due to a cold, Tan Jing looked exhausted, but when she saw her husband Li Dong, she gave him a sweet smile. At 22:00, Tan Jing stood by the passage in the hard seat carriage. Not far away, Li Dong leaned against the wall. Many passengers were already drowsy, but the couple's eyes remained vigilant as they scanned the carriage back and forth. Although they were in the same carriage, they barely communicated, each doing their own duty and standing guard until late into the night.
The workload during the Spring Festival travel rush is many times that of normal times, yet the number of anti-pickpocket officers remains the same, so they have to work continuously without rest.
Thieves tend to have lower vigilance against women. According to team division, female anti-pickpocket police generally take responsibility for on-site proximity and tracking, with the main task being cover. Rongrong and Xiaoqing are the youngest two female police officers in the anti-pickpocket team and often work together. Before operations, they would disguise themselves, especially when appearing multiple times in one place in a day, they must change hairstyles or clothing. Rongrong said, "There are only a few days left before the Spring Festival, and the holiday schedule hasn't been determined yet. I really hope I can spend some quality time with my son."
Currently, the Beijing Railway Police Iron Eagle Anti-Pickpocket Squad has deployed 100 police officers and caught 17 pickpockets.
Reported by Zhao Kang of our newspaper, with photographs by Wang Haijiao