There is rising concern for the public safety of individuals in rapidly evolving city and community environments.

Whether this be an individual walking alone on a street, young persons out sampling the nightlife, retail workers unsure of their safety or vulnerable citizens that might need assistance.

Socially concious local Government and employers are introducing solutions for real-time, connected emergency response for individuals.

An example is the City of Seoul where they have offered the X2M HelpMe devices to 100,000 of their residents with plans to offer up to 1,000,000 devices in the next few years.

Australia, in particular, is grappling with a surge in violent crime, particularly in public and retail spaces. Are we doing enough to leverage technology to keep our communities safe?

In the past year alone, Australians have witnessed incidents of violence in places once considered secure. Machete attacks in suburban shopping centres, robberies in CBD plazas, and a rise in antisocial behaviour have all contributed to a growing sense of unease. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, retail precinct assaults have risen 20% over the past three years, with states like Victoria and New South Wales reporting record-high incidents of youth gang-related violence. It’s a trend echoed across the country, and one that calls for a smarter response.

At X2M, we deliver the technology underpinning smart cities and believe that it can make a valuable contribution to incident management and enhanced public safety. We’ve recently been selected as the technology partner for the City of Seoul, one of the world’s most advanced urban centres, to power its Safe City program. For Seoul,  we will deliver the IoT-based connection devices linking into the integrated digital infrastructure driving Seoul’s smart policing, emergency response, environmental hazard monitoring and public safety systems. In real time. At scale.

The future of public safety isn’t just about more boots on the ground, it’s about smarter boots.

Seoul’s Safe City initiative brings together sensors, cameras, communication networks, and AI analytics to create a city that can ‘feel’ what’s happening and respond accordingly. It’s a multi-layered approach that uses data to predict, prevent, and rapidly respond to crime or crisis. For example, if a street brawl breaks out, a system can alert authorities based on sound and motion anomalies before the first triple-zero call is even placed.

The X2M solution helps make this seamless integration possible. Our technology connects personal safety devices into a single, secure interface, allowing authorities to make real-time decisions based on real-world events, whether that’s alerting emergency services during an incident or detering a knife attack before it occurs.

This is not science fiction. It’s already being deployed in one of the busiest cities in the world. The next logical step is to take this capability more globally and back home to Australia. Imagine an Australia where councils, transport authorities, and emergency responders work from a unified digital infrastructure. Where AI flags potentially violent incidents in real time. Where city streets adjust lighting and patrol presence based on real-time data. Where citizens are not just protected, but empowered, by the digital ecosystem around them.

The technology exists. The demand is clear. What’s needed now is leadership from governments, from industry, and from communities to modernise our approach to public safety. That starts with investing in the digital foundations that make smart cities possible: connected devices, interoperable systems, and platforms that can translate raw data into actionable outcomes.

At X2M, we are proud to have shown what’s possible in Seoul. We are ready to partner with Australian cities to help them do the same.