Dubai
Dubai Police launched its bicycle search and rescue patrol teams to cover coastal areas in Dubai all the way of Jumeirah Beach, water canal and JBR.
The bicycle patrolling aims at enhancing speedy response in emergency situations in these coastal areas.
Maj-Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, launched the new patrol as part of the search and rescue teams to achieve Dubai Police’s strategic objective of fast response in emergencies.
“Bicycle patrols can reach small and narrow areas and also the sandy beaches and it has all the equipment and first-aid kits and is connected to the command room in case of emergencies. It will help to enhance our response time in emergency situations in coastal areas,” Maj-Gen Al Merri said.
The bicycle patrol teams will be expanded in phases to cover all coastal areas in Dubai, he added.
Meanwhile, Brigadier Abdullah Al Gaithi, director of Transport and Rescue Department, said the new patrols can manoeuvre and save more lives.
He said the officers will have a smart bicycle helmet with smart features including being linked to a smart app that allows for voice and video transmission, and a system that allows for group calls or conversations.
“The helmet can also take video footage and send it live and is also fitted with a GPS tracker so the location of wearers is known at any point of time.
“Dubai Police wants to provide smart and classy security service to society,” Brigaider Al Gaithi said.
The bicycles will be lightweight, have reflectors and also indicators to indicate changing of lanes.
These features will allow the teams to coordinate better and allow for a speedier response to emergencies.
The app and the smart features also allow decision-makers, who are not on the ground, to make better decisions as they have access to live footage from the scene.
