Dubai: For the past six decades, Dubai Police have been keeping the emirate safe, protecting residents and securing people and property from those who would break the law. The force have come a long way since they were set up by a decree on June 1, 1956 — and like every thing about Dubai since then, the city, the emirate and its police force are unrecognisable.
For Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai’s Police Chief — heading up his force as it turns 60 is a momentuous occasion.
In a letter to all of the force’s members — it does not say just how many are employed there — Maj Gen Al Mazeina, congratulated His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on the anniversary of the police force, and renewed the force’s vows to serve, protect and sacrifice oneself for the nation, and maintain its safety, peace and rule of justice.
“As His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said about Dubai Police on the occasion of its 50th anniversary: “This is a story of men who were true to what they have pledged to God and did not stray from it. It is a story of instilling security, safety and justice ... as a pillar of stability, development and a decent life. It is a one-of-its-kind story in the world, of friendship and mutual respect between the police and the community. A success story of the leadership and excellence of the children of the UAE’,” he wrote.
Dubai Police has successfully created partnerships built on mutual respect, transparency and credibility, whether with security bodies or the community, both locally and internationally, which resulted in a series of conferences and memorandums of understandings.
The force, he said, has been able to contribute to the global decrease in crime rates and the arrest of international criminals who troubled police forces across the world, through its relationship with Interpol. An example of this is their role in arresting the notorious Pink Panther gang.
“Dubai Police are always in line with the Ministry of Interior’s vision, as the ministry is the umbrella under which all police forces in the country fall, and is responsible for its security. It works to prevent crime before it occurs, arrest perpetrators and bring them to justice, as well as maintain security, stability and public order.” Maj Gen Al Mazeina said.
“We have managed to significantly reduce the number of worrying crimes for every 100,000 of the population, as well as decrease the number of anonymous crimes and arresting wanted people,” he said. “This is in addition to decreasing road deaths for every 100,000 people and raising the degree of readiness to respond to crises and disasters.”
Dubai Police have successfully completed their smart transformation, with 115 smart services available to the public. The force has also received many awards for their smart services — and one of the most recent international awards came from New York on April 21, the 2016 Edison Award at the electronic awareness games.
The gathering employs cutting-edge video game technologies to communicate awareness messages and strengthen national identity and sense of belonging to the UAE. It was awarded the bronze award in the Applied Technology category for cybersafety.
As part of the happiness strategy, Duba Police have renamed their General Department for Community Service Department to General Department of Customer Happiness. “This is part of our keenness on customer happiness,” the chief said.
Dubai Police did not forget their employees’ happiness and created multiple initiatives for them, including “Isa’ad” discount cards and the “Pulse of Happiness” initiative that measures their ‘happiness’ multiple times a day.
Earlier this year, Dubai Police’s new state-of-the-art headquarters of the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology was inaugurated by Shaikh Mohammad.
The facility, which spans an area of 38,891 square metres, is the first of its kind in the region when it comes to international specifications, interior and exterior architecture, state-of-the-art equipment and local and highly qualified international experts and professionals.
Dubai Police was the first scientific police force to join the National Scientific Foundation, in addition to being a member of multiple US universities, including Florida International University.
