Visionaries of Public Safety: Why Innovation Needs Early Adopters, Advocates and Innovators

Innovation in public safety is rarely driven by technology alone. Behind every successful proof-of-concept, operational trial or deployed capability are people who see possibilities before others do, bridge gaps between stakeholders, and commit to turning ideas into real-world impact.

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This belief sits at the heart of Hatch's Visionaries of Public Safety campaign, which celebrates three distinct but interconnected pillars that enable innovation to thrive: early adoption, technology advocacy, and start-up innovation. Together, these pillars form an ecosystem that helps transformative technologies move from concept to operational reality.

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At the forefront of early adoption is Lim Chin Chin, HTX’s Assistant Chief Executive (Sciences), & Director of the Forensics Centre of Expertise. In a rapidly evolving threat landscape, Chin Chin believes public safety agencies cannot afford to wait for technologies to mature before exploring them.

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She shares, "We can't afford to play catch-up; we need to anticipate these changes and adapt proactively."

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Through Dimension X, Hatch's flagship open innovation challenge, Chin Chin worked alongside start-ups to explore new approaches to crime scene processing and management. One collaboration led to the development of a prototype drone capable of capturing live video from multiple perspectives in difficult-to-access areas, opening new possibilities for forensic investigations. More importantly, it demonstrated how involving start-ups early can uncover solutions and use cases that may never emerge through traditional development pathways. 

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But innovation cannot succeed on experimentation alone. New technologies also need champions who can help evaluate, shape and integrate them into operational environments. This is where technology advocacy plays a critical role.

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For Allan Loi, SPF’s Chief Information Officer & HTX’s Director of Policing Programme Management Centre, innovation is not about chasing the newest technology - it is about ensuring technology creates meaningful impact for officers and agencies on the ground.

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"There's no shortage of ideas, but not every idea has potential to translate into field capabilities for officers,” says Allan.

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Through programmes such as Dimension X and Hatch & Match, Allan and his team help assess and champion for these technologies to fit into existing systems, workflows and operational requirements and progress toward operational deployment. By bringing together Home Team end-users, HTX engineers and innovators, they help ensure promising solutions do not remain isolated proofs-of-concept, but have a pathway towards real-world deployment. 

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As Allan points out, innovation is ultimately about readiness.

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"It's about giving our officers the right tools to act decisively, and ensuring technology strengthens their ability to keep Singapore safe." 

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Alongside early adopters and advocates are the third pillar of the ecosystem: the start-up innovators who bring fresh perspectives, novel technologies and the willingness to tackle some of public safety's most complex challenges.

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One such innovator is Foo Tuan Tong, co-founder of GaitMetrics and an alumnus of Dimension X Cohort 2. Originally developed for eldercare applications, GaitMetrics' sensing technology was identified by Hatch as having potential applications in public safety. Through collaboration with HTX and the Singapore Prison Service, the technology was adapted to support inmate monitoring while balancing safety, operational needs and privacy considerations. 

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For Tuan Tong, one of the greatest differentiators was direct access to end-users and operational feedback.

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"Hatch's platform gave us access to Champions within SPS who worked closely with us. It created a bridge between the start-up ecosystem and government end users, allowing us to understand the problem deeply and iterate with real feedback,” shared Tuan Tong.

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The collaboration not only enabled GaitMetrics to validate its technology in a new operational setting, but also opened an entirely new public safety business vertical for the company. It is a powerful example of how start-ups, when given access to real-world challenges and the right partners, can create solutions with impact far beyond their original markets. 

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Together, Chin Chin, Allan and Tuan Tong represent three essential forces behind public safety innovation. Early adopters create space for experimentation. Technology advocates help bridge innovation with operational realities. Start-up innovators introduce fresh ideas and breakthrough technologies that challenge conventional approaches. 

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No single pillar can drive transformation alone. It is the collaboration between all three that allows promising technologies to move beyond concepts, mature through testing, and ultimately create meaningful mission impact for Singapore's Home Team.

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As public safety challenges continue to evolve, the future will belong to organisations and individuals willing to innovate together. At Hatch, these Visionaries of Public Safety are not only shaping technologies for today—they are helping build the capabilities that will keep tomorrow's communities safe and secure. 

Interested in partnering with Hatch? Whether you're a Home Team innovator with a challenge or a start-up with a breakthrough solution, reach out to our team at wilson@txv.sg, yiting@txv.sg, michelle@txv.sg or jonathan@txv.sg to explore how we can innovate together.