Dubai: Dubai Police’s new state-of-the-art headquarters of the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology was inaugurated on Wednesday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Unveiling the memorial plaque, Shaikh Mohammad said the new advanced technical and technological facility 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.
Maj Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said in his opening speech that Dubai Police have become 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.
Dubai Police, he said, also have collaborations with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Maj Gen Al Mazeina explained the units of the department and work mechanisms.
“The cornerstone of this project is the investment in Emirati talent... to send them abroad to study various science streams related to forensics. We have sent more than 64 Emiratis for masters and PhD programmes, in addition to bachelor degrees in 16 forensic specialisations. We have a plan in place to send 160 students abroad by 2020,” he said.
Maj Gen Al Mazeina told Gulf News, “We are honoured by Shaikh Mohammad’s visit and his directives to involve more Emirati youth in this scientific institution, increase the number of Emirati experts as well as provide courses in all forensic specialisations,” he said.
“Our plan for 2020 is to have a large number of Emirati experts working in the laboratory. We will also seek the help of some experts from outside the UAE in the field of research and training.”
Col Ahmad Mattar Al Muhairi, director of the Forensic Science and Criminology Department at Dubai Police, told Gulf News that Dubai’s growth has created the need for more forensic experts. “There were directives from Shaikh Mohammad and Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim [Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security in Dubai] to build a new building after which a team was formed to tour the world’s top police forensics labs in the world and take the best ideas and this is the result.”
The department, he said, has 520 technicians and support staff and around 200 forensic experts.
Col Al Muhairi said there was also a need for more specialised departments, and they have added new departments such as the forensic engineering and nuclear physics department.
The nuclear physics department was created following orders from the government to build a nuclear plant in the UAE. “There is always a need to predict and be prepared for any accident that could happen in the future so we do not have to seek help from outside.”
“We also have a new Forensics Entomology section that helps give a more precise time of death, especially for decomposed bodies, by studying the insects found on the body,”
Forensic entomology is the analysis of evidence [of time of death] obtained from insects on the dead body.
He said that they will keep adding new departments and sections with time.
“Any public or private forensic institution in the world, who wants our services, we are more than happy to help. We used to get cases from GCC countries and when there was a flood in Oman, we worked with Oman. We are ready for any international collaboration,” Col Al Muhairi said.
The new facility was built taking into consideration any expansion needs until 2025.
The inauguration was attended by Lt General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, and Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim.
Features of the new headquarters
The new building has two entrances to the reception: one for the public and the other a private entrance for suspects.
It spans an area of 38,891 square metres and has parking spaces for more than 260 cars.
There are two sections: the main building of the Department of Forensic Science and Criminology, with its departments and labs, and an institute that will have partnerships with recognised international institutes in the field of forensics.
The Department of Forensic Science and Criminology has 11 sub-departments, of which nine will be in the main building.
The forensic medicine department will remain a separate building, as will the Dubai Police K9 unit.
The new building includes classic forensics departments such as forensic biology and DNA, forensic chemistry, forensic toxicology, trace evidence and post-bomb and explosives, tool-marks and firearms, questioned documents, digital forensics and computer crime, voice analysis, forensic video and photography, fire and arson investigation and fingerprint.
Dubai Police added new disciplines to the forensics department, such as forensic engineering, nuclear physics department and forensic accounting.
Dubai Police had earlier revealed that the building would cost around $100 million (Dh367 million).
