Opinion Piece: The Frustration After Taking Off the Uniform—Who Will Be the Nanny for the 'Police Child'?

Recently, media reports revealed that the daughters of Taichung City Police Bureau Director Wu and Xinyi Precinct Chief Xiao were allegedly involved in a fraud case. As a mother, Chief Xiao's heartfelt expression of regret over missing her child's upbringing deeply moved many. While public attention has focused on why the children went astray, I am drawn to a deeper, more pressing question: When a police officer takes on a leadership role, does it inevitably mean sacrificing the most important parental role—being present?

As a police supervisor, one shoulders national security, public order, and immense responsibility. Yet, on the other side of this duty, what may be lost is the most vital role of all—a father or mother's presence. Hearing Chief Xiao's emotional words as a mother, my strongest feeling was not the pressure she endured as a supervisor, but the plight of children of police officers.

The moment a parent becomes a police supervisor, they bear the weight of national duty, public safety, and responsibility. But what they often lose in return is the irreplaceable role of a parent—being there. For decades, police institutions have emphasized 'sacrifice and service for the nation and people.' When superiors demand full accountability for district security, supervisors must dedicate excessive time to duties, meetings, oversight, and performance metrics.

Yet, when a child repeatedly strays from their life path due to lack of parental presence, the only recourse left is what criminology calls 'formal social control'—intervention by law enforcement or the justice system. At that moment, no matter how high one's rank, one must admit failure and defeat in the role of parent.

Children do not care how high your rank is. They do not remember how many security meetings you chaired, how many cases you solved, or how many commendations you received. What they remember are the repeated absences—parent-teacher conferences, graduations, birthdays, and the recurring words: 'Dad can't come home tonight.'

For supervisors, the emotional needs of parenting are always overshadowed by national duty, performance metrics, and a sense of mission to superiors. Yet, family breakdowns rarely stem from lack of love, but from systems that make balance impossible.

Police institutions have long upheld a rigid system of individual accountability, where responsibility cascades downward, leaving supervisors with virtually no normal family life. Unknowingly, children become collateral victims of this system.

Many male supervisors can fully commit to work only because a wife silently bears the family burden. I've often heard senior officers admit in casual conversation: 'I hardly know how my child grew up.' If you missed the years your child needed you most, how can you expect a deep, intimate parent-child relationship in adulthood?

I urge all police supervisors: Do not see yourselves as irreplaceable. A truly mature organization is not built on 24/7 availability, but on robust delegation and shared responsibility. Only by implementing proper delegation systems can supervisors take leave with peace of mind, spend time with family, and truly be a father or mother.

Police officers are indeed the nation's nannies, but never forget: at home, there is another child waiting for their nanny—father or mother.

*Author: Freelancer, 20 years in law enforcement, graduate of Central Police University's Institute of Legal Studies