Dubai: One of the main obstacles facing policemen in their efforts to combat begging is the veil (niqab) worn by women to conceal their identity, a senior police officer has revealed.
Colonel Jamal Al Jallaf, Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Department for Administration and Control, said policewomen were included in the Dubai Police campaigns against begging to overcome this problem.
"There is also the way people look at us when we crack down on beggars." he said.
"Because these beggars have made a profession out of emotional manipulation, for some people arresting them is a crime and a violation of religious values," Col Al Jallaf said.
"We would like to stress that most beggars do not need to beg but use it as an umbrella to enable them to commit crimes."
Scheming for sympathy
He said CID men had monitored an Arab woman who was holding a baby while begging, and it turned out that the baby was not hers — she had simply hired it to extract sympathy from passers-by.
"In another case, we found 20 beggars were being transported by a bus that distributed them in different areas every day," he added.
Col Al Jallaf urged all residents to cooperate in putting an end to begging by calling 8004438 to report any cases.
