Dubai: More than 700 suspects were arrested in Dubai last week with a rate of 100 to 120 arrests taking place per day on charges of violating the residency law and persons wanted for various cases.
During a press conference on Monday, Lieutenant Colonel Ali Ganem, Director of Bur Dubai Police Station, told how the arrests are in line with the launch of a campaign, titled, ‘Summer Meteors'.
The campaign designated patrol units to inspect people staying in the country illegally, arrest wanted people in a variety of cases and monitor crimes committed by youngsters during the summer session, he said.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Qadir Al Bannai, Director of Jebel Ali Police Station, 85 per cent of the arrests last week were people violating the residency law and staying in the country illegally.
During the summer session, teenagers have long hours of free time and during this time some of them commit crimes such as minor robberies, he said. More than 5,400 patrol units were used from mid-August 2009 till the end of May 2010 in Bur Dubai, alone, which has a population of 461,118 people, said Lieutenant Colonel Ganem.
"Serious crimes like robberies have significantly declined since our security campaigns were launched in August of 2009 till May of 2010, by more than 60 per cent," he said.
Strengthening cooperation from the public is Dubai Police's main aim, said Lieutenant Colonel Ganem, while adding that the campaign which was kicked off last week, has received tremendous response from the public.
"The most cooperative communities during the campaign were Asians and Europeans, which managed to change people's perception about the police force in Dubai. We are here to work hand-in-hand with the public to ensure safety, regulation, and curbing crimes."
