A month ago, Police sent an invite to all young people in Wiltshire asking them to take part in a coding competition as part of July’s #CyberLife campaign.
Young people were invited to develop an online game based on the theme of ‘Staying Safe Online.’ Applicants came up with their own team name and logo, and presented their game to the Wiltshire Police judges via a 2 minutes video, which were hosted on YouTube.
A panel of judges made up from our Digital Investigation and Intelligence Unit (DIIU) met to look at all entries and decide on an overall winner from a primary and secondary school age category.
Detective Inspector Gemma Vinton said; “We were overwhelmed by the number of entries we received, all of which were very impressive and of a high standard.
“Whether you are running a household or a company, people are incredibly busy– juggling schedules, activities and deadlines. We all need to be more mindful of the ever changing face of cybercrime, and that our ‘switched-on’ lives can cause additional risks, so it’s essential that we take simple, actionable steps to stay safer online.
“Educating young people and asking them to take two minutes to think about how to safeguard themselves whilst using digital devices online is a great starting point. With the cyber world growing these young people are our future.”
The winners of the competition are:
Senior age category: Rose, aged 12 from Swindon
Junior age category: Myles, aged 10 from Bradford on Avon and Toby, aged 11 from Salisbury.
Detective Inspector Vinton added; “The three winners made brilliant video’s demonstrating their games and were all able to highlight ways for staying safe online.
“I’d like to congratulate you all on winning the competition and look forward to meeting you soon to present you with your prizes.”
Rose, Myles and Toby will be invited to Police Headquarters to receive their prize, which includes a raspberry pi computer, a tour of Wiltshire Police Headquarters, including a visit to the Digital Investigations & Intelligence Unit, tea with one of our Chief Officers plus the chance to sit in a road traffic car and meet a police dog handler and dog.
