Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Brenda Ong Bi Hui hails from a family of Home Team offi cers, who influenced her choice of career. The 28-year-old Singapore Government Scholarship (Singapore Police Force) (SGS (SPF)) recipient joined the SPF after graduating from the University of Cambridge in England with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Psychology and Sociology (Honours) in 2012. She says: “My father was a policeman, and I grew up listening to his stories about fighting crime and protecting those who needed help. “A few of my relatives also worked in the Home Team. They helped me to better understand what the job entails.” DSP Ong is an Operations Officer in the Future Ops Division at the Operations Department.

Scholarship benefits

For DSP Ong, the SGS offered her the chance to do something exciting yet meaningful, while setting her on a career that promises growth. She says: “I knew that I did not want a deskbound job. I was looking for something with enough job security to allow me to develop long-term career goals, while challenging me constantly and giving me a sense of purpose.” The scholarship also offered opportunities for foundation postings at the frontline, where she could deal with crimes and crime-related issues directly. She adds: “These postings enabled me to strengthen critical thinking, crisis management and social intelligence, before I moved on to policy work. “It is important to understand and experience the pain points at the frontline before trying to solve them.”

Future-proofing Singapore

DSP Ong belongs to the first batch of Future Ops officers. They ensure that police operations are future-ready by engaging stakeholders, exploring new ideas and experimenting with new concepts of operations. Part of her job entails creating strategic master plans that incorporate longer-term visions. As an example of this, DSP Ong cites how the SPF is trying to harness emerging technologies to aid crime fighting. She elaborates: “I work on technology master plans that are applicable across the Joint Operations, Investigations and Intelligence domains. “On a day-to-day basis, I trial emerging technologies. These include Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or chatbots with frontline officers to test how technology can be applied to frontline policing and help them do more with less.” DSP Ong adds that it is no longer a rarity to see women in the uniformed services these days. Everyone on the team shares the same goal of protecting Singaporeans. She says: “Several amazing women have paved the way for females in the police force, and more female leaders are going further in their careers today. “We hope to continue to keep Singapore safe and secure, and help our country stay resilient in the face of future challenges.”