Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Call to arm Saudi religious police during operations
Al Gaith attributed this mainly to the aberrations made by some of the commission members as well as exaggerated reports in the media.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 00:03 June 12, 2008
Riyadh: The younger Saudi generations are developing a hatred towards the religious police, warned an official.
"I am afraid of a new generation that is in the making in the kingdom, who despises the commission members and their activities," said Shaikh Ebrahim Al Gaith, chairman of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, while addressing a ceremony to honour retired members of the commission.
Al Gaith attributed this mainly to the aberrations made by some of the commission members as well as exaggerated reports in the media.
He blamed the media for projecting negative impression about the commission members and their activities, saying that this would have bad impact on the Saudi society.
A recent study, which is related to upgrading the commission, called for increasing the number of "suitable security men" accompanying commission members during their fieldwork, and allowing them to carry arms.
The field study, which was conducted by the King Saud University and the King Abdullah Institute for Research and Consultative Studies, presented several demands, foremost among which was the demand to offer commission members bigger financial rewards.
The study emphasised the role of the members of the commission in controlling the Saudi street and putting an end to what it called the "behavioral chaos within the Saudi society".
It also stressed that all commission members should master a number of languages, to facilitate communication with foreigners in Saudi Arabia.
The field study called for special training sessions for the members on crime prevention methods, penal system adopted by the government, ways to conduct arrest operations and monitor raids carried out by commission members once a violation is detected.
I am afraid of a new generation ... who despises the commission members and their activities."
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