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Command and Control room of Dubai Police at Dubai Police Headquarters. Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News Archives

Dubai: Dubai Police’s newly installed high-tech surveillance cameras have helped Al Muraqqabat Police Station in arresting over 100 wanted people and 441 suspects in 2018.

Installed in busy areas with a high density of businesses and shoppers, the CCTV cameras were fitted with facial recognition technology and built-in vehicle licence plate readers.

Al Muraqqabat police station said the cutting-edge cameras played a great role in apprehending wanted suspects and significantly brought down Dubai’s crime rate by 25 per cent compared to 2017.

“The smart area project is equipped with state-of-the-art devices that are contributing to reducing the crime rates and enhance people’s sense of security and safety”, said Major-General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs at Dubai Police.

AI project

“Implementing the project was part of Dubai Police’s strategic plan 2016-2021, and the strategic plan for artificial intelligence 2018-2021, which aims to keep pace with the aspirations of the leadership to employ artificial intelligence,” he added.

Brigadier-General Ali Ganem, Director of the Muraqqabat Police Station, said Dubai Police had set up a team of experts to implement the smart area project, and set the end goals of the project.

They then begun installing smart cameras directly connected to Al Muraqqabat Police Station operation room.

He added that Dubai Police had placed warning signs that there were smart CCTV cameras being used in three languages — Arabic, English and Urdu.