Organised by the Junior Police Call (JPC) of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) and fully supported by the Bank of China (Hong Kong), the JPC Innovation and Technology Competition 2023-24 held its Award Presentation Ceremony cum Carnival at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today (May 11). The competition aims to encourage primary and secondary school students to apply STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) knowledge and skills, as well as creative thinking, problem solving and logical reasoning to construct innovative and feasible "Smart City" solutions in the four areas of "Mobility", "Living", "Environment" and "Economy".
The Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee; the General Manager of Information Technology Department of Bank of China (Hong Kong), Mr Yung Fai; the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li; and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Mr Chow Yat-ming, officiated at the ceremony and presented 88 awards to more than 145 winners.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Siu said that since its establishment in 1974, the JPC has been dedicated to training young people to become youth leaders and crime-fighting partners. Noting that this year marks the 180th anniversary and 50th anniversary of the establishment of the HKPF and the JPC respectively, he said that the JPC has continued to inject new ideas to meet the needs of young people from different generations over the past 50 years. Members are nurtured through diversified activities and training programmes to cultivate leadership, positive thinking, law-abiding awareness, discipline and team spirit, so as to understand the importance of serving the community.
Mr Siu said that this year's competition has incorporated the themes of "Cyber Security" and "Information Literacy" in the drawing competition of the Junior Primary Category. In addition, the "Best Safe City Award (Cyber Security)" has been added to other categories to encourage young people to promote information literacy through design, and at the same time enhance their awareness of information security risks, online deceptions, and objectionable information, with a view to preventing them from falling into online traps.
He also mentioned that deception, coupled with technology, had exacerbated the problem, resulting in the rising prevalence of deception. He added that the total loss in scams in Hong Kong reached $9.18 billion in 2023, which is equivalent to an average of $25 million per day, with one deception case occurring every 13 minutes. He pointed out that the consequences of deception are far beyond monetary loss, causing long-term emotional and psychological trauma to victims and their families. He called on the public to make good use of technology and pursue efforts to enable everyone in Hong Kong to know about "Scameter+" launched by HKPF, with the objective of achieving continuity and establishing an "Anti-deception Smart City".
In the videos presented during the award presentation ceremony, winning teams shared their experiences of the research and development process and demonstrated the application of technology in different aspects of life, such as cybersecurity, power generation devices and virtual road safety city. The competition also features the "Safest City Award", which encourages participants to showcase innovative solutions in crime prevention and road safety improvement so that Hong Kong will continue to be one of the safest and most stable societies in the world.
The competition was supported by the Education Bureau, the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, Hong Kong Productivity Council, Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association, the Hong Kong Extra-curricular Activities Masters' Association, the Hong Kong Computer Society, the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Hong Kong STEM Education Alliance and Hong Kong New Emerging Technology Education Association. The competition was divided into four categories, namely junior primary school, senior primary school, junior secondary school and senior secondary school, which attracted over 1,600 students from nearly 170 schools. The list of winning teams has been uploaded onto the JPC website www.hkpjpc.org.hk.
To further encourage the younger generation to engage with innovation and technology, a two-day (May 11 to 12) Innovation and Technology Carnival is being held at the same venue. In addition to the exhibition of award-winning and shortlisted entries, there is a number of game booths with innovation and technology elements. These include the Elite Athletics Games with e-sports game; the Crime-fighting Partner Training Camp to enable the participants to gain a better knowledge and experience of police duties; and the Solar-powered Mars Rover Workshop, which allow participants to experience the fun of science and technology. There is also a zone featuring digital policing, showcasing the smart search and rescue mobile application HKSOS, "Scameter+" and patrol robots to illustrate how the Force leverages technology to enhance operational efficiency.
Over the years, the JPC has endeavoured to provide diversified activities and training for young people. In 2021, it has established the Innovation and Technology Competition and introduced a new strategy, "IDEAS@JPC", which tied in with the subsequently launched annual JPC Award Scheme, with a view to encouraging young people to actively participate in various activities, nurturing more young leaders to join hands in the fight against crime.
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