To prevent young people from falling preys to cyber traps, New Territories South Regional Crime Prevention Office (RCPO NTS) has joined hands with the Youth Crime Prevention Centre of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) in launching a crime prevention programme, "Project iSmart". The project is the first ever youth technology crime prevention programme organised jointly by the Force and a Non-government organisation to introduce the "Early Intervention" approach.  A press conference was held on December 23, 2013 to introduce the programme to the public.

 

The programme has been divided into two parts. In first part covering education, RCPO NTS produced short films on real cases, which will be uploaded onto "The Youth Law" (http://ycpc.hkfyg.org.hk/youthlaw/), an HKFYG website, on a regular basis. These short films will also be broadcast in public places to raise awareness of such crime. 

 

In view of the recent upward trend of "naked chat" extortion, the first film will cover "naked chat" in a bid to alert young people who like making friends on the Internet and protect them from vice traps.

 

The second part covers "Early Intervention". Apart from dealing with reports, the police will take a proactive approach in their day-to-day work and refer potential victims to the youth workers of "Project iSmart" for preliminary assessment and follow-up action.  The referral service began on January 1 for a six-month trial in Tsuen Wan District and Kwai Tsing District. Depending on the outcome, the service may be extended to other police districts in NTS Region.