Dubai: From flying bikes and robotic vehicles to smart police stations and drive-through services, Dubai Police heralded a new era of policing during 2017 with eyes on more such innovations in 2018.
In its endeavour to reduce the number of people coming to police stations by 80 per cent, Dubai Police launched the smart police station initiative in 2017.
Brigadier Khalid Nasser Al Razouqi, General Director of Smart Services at Dubai Police, said the new facility is a real-time glimpse into future police stations in UAE.
- Brig Khalid Nasser Al Razouqi | General Director of Smart Services at Dubai Police
“Residents can visit anytime and report a crime or benefit from our services. The station is the first of many that will be installed all around the city,” Brig Al Razouqi said.
Walk-in smart police station
Dubai Police have also launched a walk-in smart police station that will be located in shopping malls.
Engineer Khuloud Al Marzouqi of Dubai Police said the walk-in station will offer various services.
“It is designed to help people of determination and can interact in six languages offering 60 police services, including paying traffic fines and reporting crimes. These services will be provided without any human intervention,” Al Marzouqi said.
Drive-through stations
Residents will be able to avail Dubai Police services, including payment of traffic fines through a drive-through service at Last Exit locations. The new service will be located at three key points of Last Exit project developed by Meraas.
Customers can avail the services while sitting in their vehicles. “Dubai Police provide many ways and points for residents to pay their traffic fines or get other police services and drive-through service is part of it. It will be opened by the end of the year,” Brig Al Razouqi added.
It will offer 19 police services for the moment but eight more services, including reporting a crime, will be added later. “The self-service station is designed like an old police car at Last Exit E11,” Brig Al Razouqi said.
Amal Al Mazroui, manager of the project, said the service will remain open 24 hours and it will have a screen and an officer to communicate with the customer and also a dashboard to pay fines by cards or cash.
Meet Dubai Police's volunteer robot: Amal! She's helping fight drug abuse. (via Dubai Police on instagram)
Brig Al Razouqi said Dubai Police adopted an artificial intelligence strategic plan for next year all the way to 2021. Artificial intelligence will be used in anticipating crimes, road safety and other police services.
“We will develop our services by analyzing the data. We will develop our officers’ skills to make them know how to deal with artificial intelligence systems in all police departments and stations,” Brig Al Razouqi added.
Smart police station
Believed to be the world’s first smart police station, the first station locateed at City Walk will be followed by more stations to assist the public in an easy and efficient way.
Once seated in private cubicles at the station, visitors can click on an electronic dashboard to communicate online with police officers around the clock. It is a confidential service point where the customers can speak freely with officers through video conference. The smart dashboard can provide many services like paying traffic fines by cash or cards or to send and receive documents.
Officers will also take a visitor’s statement and return it to the visitor at the smart station in hard-copy form and the visitor will then sign it before sending the copy back to the officer to complete the reporting of a crime, he said.
Futuristic vehicles
In October, Dubai Police revealed a robo cop, an auto police patrol, and a flying motorbike at Gitex Technology Week 2017.
The smart motorbike has eight cameras to take pictures and videos of vehicles engaged in reckless driving. The battery-operated motorbike has a maxuimum speed of 200km/h.
The flying bike called ‘Hoversurf’ can respond to emergency situations. It works on electricity and can fly at a height of five metres and carry a policeman.
The bike can also fly without a passenger and can travel up to 6km. It can fly for 25 minutes and can carry up to 300kg of weight at a speed of 70km/h.
