Abu Dhabi: The launch of the instant translation service by the Abu Dhabi Police has proven to be a major success so far, with 17,584 phone calls handled through the instant translation service in the past 20 months, of whicj 8,547 calls were handled in the first eight months of this year alone.
The service is connected to the operations room 24 hours a day, through the emergency 999 number, providing 24 different translated languages and dialects. The service has effectively saved time during emergency phone calls between the caller and the police, with the caller being automatically transferred to the translation branch with a professional interpreter to communicate.
“This service has contributed to the timely delivery of information to the competent police entities, and is an essential element in solving cases and responding to reports.” said Brig Maktoum Al Shareefi, Director of the Capital Police Directorate.
He said: “The UAE being home to more than 200 nationalities, communication with individuals who do not share a common language becomes a difficult task in many cases, whether they were submitting a report or suspects. Thanks to this technology, we can save both time and effort in our bid to maintain security and communicate promptly with the callers.”
Brig Al Shareefi discussed how there were plans to greatly increase the number of translated languages and dialects. “Our next objective is to provide language interpreting services to include a total of 45 languages and dialects, serving the majority of nationalities living in the country.”
Brig Al Shareefi noted that the Translation Branch uses high-end technologies in providing its services with screens installed in all police stations. When the Translation Branch services are required, the desired language is selected from the languages list, and then communication is established between the interpreter and the individual at the police station.
