PYA 2017

The Police Youth Ambassador (PYA) event was held on 29th August 2017 at Coronation Plaza. Members of Batch 49, 50 and 51 engaged the public and raised awareness about online scams. Below is a reflection on the PYA experience by Batch 50.
“For   this   year’s   Police   Youth   Ambassador   Course,   we   went   to   Coronation   Plaza   to   hand out   pamphlets   regarding   online   purchase   scams   to   spread   a   greater   awareness   for   this subject   amongst   the   general   public.   Concurrently,   we   also   showcased   the   posters   we created   regarding   the   topic.    Through   this   activity,   we   had   been   able   to   spread   the message   about   protecting   oneself   from   online   purchase   scams,   to   the   community.This   year’s   PYA   was   an   interesting   change   compared   to   the   previous   year’s   as   we   were given   the   opportunity   to   design   posters,   first   and   foremostly   allowing   us   to   learn   more about   online   purchase   scams    —    through   the   need   to   carry   out   our   own   research    —    and further   giving   us   an   avenue   to   express   our   creativity.From   this   experience,   we   learnt   to   better   our   communication   skills   through   engagement of   the   public.   We   were   able   to   learn   how   to   approach   a   stranger   politely,   in   addition   to learning   to   speak   concisely   ie.   how   to   summarize   the   topic   briefly,   so   as   not   to   take   up too   much   of   their   time.   We   also   learnt   how   to   handle   rejection   and   not   get   discouraged easily   when   the   members   of   public   rejected   our   attempts   to   approach   them. Additionally,   we   had   to   mask   our   disappointment   and   thank   our   audience   regardless   of the   circumstances   of   the   situation.Moreover,   we   had   learnt   how   to   step   out   of   our   comfort   zone.   It   is   no   easy   feat   to advocate   a   cause   through   public   speaking.   We   had   to   gather   our   courage   to   approach members   of   the   public   and   speak   with   confidence    —    something   that   we,   of   course, rarely   have   to   do   on   a   daily   basis.    It   was   unnerving   for   most   of   us   as   they   held   eye contact   and   looked   expectantly   at   us   for   us   to   continue   our   speech.   Regardless,   we gradually   managed   to   overcome   these   challenges,   and   perform   to   the   best   of   our   ability.If   we   are   fortunate   enough   to   be   given   an   opportunity   to   do   this   project   again,   we   would choose   to   cover   a   bigger   area   instead.   This   is   due   to   many   cadets   frequently   running into   each   other   in   the   small   area   we   were   allocated   to.   With   a   larger   area,   we   would   be able   to   manage   our   manpower   allocation   better   as   there   would   be   a   larger   area   for   us   to cover.   In   places   where   a   larger   crowd   is   more   likely   to   pass   by,   we   also   would   be   able to   spread   awareness   to   a   larger   crowd.   If   possible,   we   hope   to   distribute   manpower over   several   shopping   malls   in   the   vicinity   as   the   people   on   the   top   floors   did   not manage   to   give   out   many   flyers   due   to   most   people   already   collecting   it   from   the   people at   the   bottom   floors.
Through   the   process   of   this   activity,   we   have   gained   much   insight   to   the   topic   regarding online   purchase   scams   as   well   as   how   to   safeguard   ourselves   from   becoming   victims   of such   a   crime.   By   being   able   to   step   out   of   our   daily   routine,   to   engage   the   public   in   a conversation,   it   was   no   question,   that   it   had   taught   us   much   about   learning   to   speak   out through   the   process   of   learning   how   to   advocate   the   general   public   on   our   cause.”