Winners of Sharjah Police Future Readiness Award unveiled

Sharjah: The Sharjah Police Academy announced and honoured on Thursday (June 1, 2023) the winners of the global ‘Future Readiness Award’.

The award, the first-of-its-kind at the level of police agencies, was launch on August 2022.

Under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Muhammad bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Head of the Department of Statistics and Community Development, and Maj. Gen. Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, winners of the “Readiness for the Future” award were honoured today at the Sharjah Police Headquarters.

The ceremony, organised by the Sharjah Police in cooperation with the Academy of Police Sciences, was attended by senior officers and a number of officials at the federal and local levels, and representatives of universities, research institutes and houses of expertise locally and globally.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Head of the Department of Statistics and Community Development, and Maj. Gen. Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, inaugurated the “Coding of Penal and Correctional Institutions, from traditional to virtual” project according to a highly intelligent system. This project is based on several implicit projects.

Smart infrastructure

It will continue until 2040, including the intelligent design of prisons — with smart infrastructure, rehabilitation of inmates using artificial intelligence techniques, reformulation of motives and behavioural models, innovative laboratories for inmates through metaverse technologies, virtual prisons, and neurotherapy.

During the ceremony, Maj. Gen. Al Shamsi thanked Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, for his generous patronage of the award, and his continuous support for all leadership initiatives that seek to achieve the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, which aims to improve security work and its strategies in achieving the quality of life for the UAE community in general, and the Emirate of Sharjah in particular.

Challenges

Maj. Gen. Al Shamsi said Sharjah Police General Command has been keen to read the new reality and its changes that require security institutions to respond to this reality through scientific strategies and well-studied methodologies, preparing for the future by anticipating its predictions and dealing consciously with its challenges.

Hence, the launch of the “Future Readiness” award comes from a forward-looking vision based on the pillars of scientific research, in which students, researchers, and academics participate, competing in drawing paths of scientific knowledge for the future.

That future embodies the essential meaning of the power of science, its ability to change concepts, create visions, face challenges, and lead the future transformation with confidence and competence towards achieving comprehensive security and sustainable is the best in the world.

First edition of award

It is the award’s first edition, participated in by a huge number of researchers. The award is categorised into seven topics
The future of transportation

The future of cyber security

The future of drug abuse and combating and rehabilitating drug users

The future of correctional and penal institutions and rehabilitation of inmates

The future of outsourcing or privatising government services and The future of crimes.

The event confirmed the success of the Sharjah Police in its emphasis on deepening the role of scientific research in enhancing security work alongside field work, so that the two sides integrate knowledge and field, realising that the applied quality of ideas is the basis for solid construction.

The officer congratulated all the winners and participants who presented qualitative studies that contribute to enhancing the quality of life, and the trustees of the award and those in charge of it, whose fruitful efforts had a great impact on achieving the objectives and ambitious visions of the award.

Award goals

Meanwhile , Brig. Gen. Dr. Muhammad Khamis Al Othmani, Director General of the Academy of Police Sciences and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Award Readiness for the future, said: “This award has achieved the desired goals, thanks to God Almighty and then thanks to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and support the Executive Council represented by Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, Chairman of the Executive Council for sponsorship of the award.

He added: “Today, we are reaping the fruits of this award, the first of its kind at the local and international levels, as the ‘Future Readiness’ award represented a broad title for the future objectives of Sharjah Police, so the decision of the Commander-in-Chief to establish the award, which aims to optimise preparation and readiness for challenges and grab future opportunities in a way that contributes to leadership in all security fields.”

He said that the award enhances the role of scientific and knowledge research in Sharjah Police by spreading the culture of investment in the human resource of students, scholars, researchers.

Two categories

The award combines scientific research and forward-looking studies, and is considered a reference for future studies that support security work, he added.

Pointing out that the award included two categories: (1) the category of future foresight institutions, research centers and universities inside and outside the country, and (2) the category of researchers, experts and students of educational institutions for undergraduate and postgraduate studies, and members of the police and security forces to provide research studies and innovative solutions to future challenges.

According to (seven ) main topics.

He revealed that the studies submitted in the award went through several stages, starting with the stage of registering the titles for the award.

There were 181 initial titles considered under two main categories. After they were presented to the screening committee, the number was whittled down to 98 studies, reaching the evaluation stage. Finally, 16 studies qualified for the final arbitration stage.

In choosing the award winners, and the studies approved for publication, the screening committee considered 9 distinct studies that meet the award’s objectives and simulate the future, based on the criteria of readiness and proactivity.

Winners honoured

Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Head of the Department of Statistics and Community Development, and Maj. Gen. Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, honoured the first winners in the institutional and individual categories.

Institutional Category winners

First place: Consultant – advisor Foundation from the United Arab Emirates, for a study entitled: “Future prospects for drug abusers rehabilitation and control.”

Second place: Click for Business Software Company, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for a study entitled: “Anticipating the Future of Cybersecurity.”

Third place: the National Center for Social and Criminal Research of Egypt for a study entitled: “Foreseeing the future of non-traditional crimes, monitoring mechanisms and methods of confrontation and prevention.”

Individual Category winners

First place: Rahaf Munther Al-Saba, researcher from the Syria for a study entitled: “Anticipating the future of the transport sector (transportation) from the window of contemporary reality in order to achieve the visions of the Emirates 2030 and 2050.”

Second place: Aisha Tariq Saleh Bu Khalaf Al Hammadi, researcher from the UAE, for a study entitled: “Application of Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Drones, and Road Transport Safety for Crisis Management.”

Third place: Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Abdullatif Al-Dhafar, researcher from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for a study entitled: “The Future of Securing Self-Driving Cars.”

Third place (tie): Essam El-Din Abdel-Al-Sayed Abdulal, from Egypt, for a study entitled: “Looking to the Future and its Importance in Confronting the Crimes of Abuse of Narcotic Substances, Psychotropic Substances, and Preventive Addiction - in the Light of UAE Law.”

In appreciation of the outstanding participations that did not win the first places in the award competition,

The award committee also approved two studies for publication, one institutional and the other individual, generalising the scientific and cognitive value contained in these two studies: United Arab Emirates, represented by Dr. Obaid Saleh Al Mokhten.

The individual category of a study entitled: “Supporting Artificial Intelligence” by researcher Zeeshan Hamid Abdul Hamid, from Pakistan.

The ceremony included a documentary film about the efforts of the Sharjah Police in foreseeing the future and its readiness for global institutional leadership, and a dialogue session entitled “Future Dialogue”, moderated by Lt. Col. Dr. Sameh Al-Halyan, Deputy Director of Strategy and Performance Development, hosted by Dr. Derek Woodgate, consulting futurist/foresight scientist and Dr. Fawaz Abu Sitta, UNESCO Chair for Anticipatory Systems and the Foresight Research Director at the Center of Futures Studies, the University of Dubai.

The session addressed the paths of the future security in promoting the development sustainable security, and the scientific and practical experience of Sharjah Police and its prospects towards achieving future goals, enhancing its global competitiveness as a leading institution in the field of making the future.