Dubai: Dubai Police have revealed plans to build what is expected to enter the Guinness World Records as the largest policeman’s cap, which will also house the new Dubai Police Museum building, a senior police official said.
Maj Gen Abdul Rahman Mohammad Rafei, Director-General of the Department of Community Services at Dubai Police, said the new building will be four floors high and will overlook both Al Ittihad road and Al Mulla Plaza.
The museum’s budget has been approved and the preliminary plans are under way, Maj Gen Rafei said.
He added that the museum will built at Dubai Police’s Headquarters but will be positioned in a way that complements Al Qiyadah Metro station and Metro passengers can see the museum as they pass.
Educating the public
The old museum, which is also at Dubai Police Headquarters, documents the achievements of the police force since its inception in 1956, as well as educates the public on how law and order is maintained.
The old museum houses many artefacts that were used by Dubai Police as well as photos. For instance, there are photos documenting various phases of Dubai Police — including photos of the first female police force.
There are also weapons used and confiscated by Dubai Police, old uniforms, old telecommunications equipment, old radars and brochures as well as samples of some of the ways drugs were smuggled into the country.
The new museum will have all that and more, as the new building is significantly larger than the old museum.
Research halls will also part of the new museum, where researchers who are working on papers related to Dubai Police can easily access the information they need.
Maj Gen Rafei said the shape of the new museum was the idea of Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security and the former Dubai Police Chief.
He said that Lt Gen Dahi said museums usually look traditional, but Dubai Police always looks for new things and that is why he said he chose this modern unique design.
Work started on the first Dubai Police Museum in 1985 and it was opened in 1987. Maj Gen Rafei said the museum was also the brainchild of Lt Gen Dahi.
“We were on an inspection tour of one of Dubai Police’s warehouses near Rashid Port where there was old and unused equipment. He told me that it was a waste to destroy or leave the old equipment there to waste away, and said the new generations should have a chance to see and know about those memories,” Maj Gen Rafei recalled.
Maj Gen Rafei said everything that has to do with the museum was a Dubai Police in-house effort, as even the carpentry and metal work involved is done by a team from Dubai Police.
In 2006, a fire broke out in the museum, but nothing irreplaceable was lost in the fire, Maj Gen Rafei said. The museum was reopened in 2008.
Maj Gen Rafei said that the museum is constantly being updated.
The museum attracts thousands of visitors each year, including international delegations, pupils and researchers.
