Police seek stronger public cooperation

Dubai: Dubai Police are reaching out to the public to boost relations with the people they protect.

At a press conference on Tuesday police officials suggested that a friendlier police presence makes people feel more comfortable and more likely to contact them when crimes are in progress.

Senior police officials launched a one-year campaign to raise public awareness about the importance of cooperating with the police in reporting crimes to make Dubai the most secure city in the world.

The new campaign is called a Sense of Security.

Organised by the Dubai Police Community Service Department under the theme, Cooperate with Dubai Police to Achieve Security and Safety, the move is aimed at encouraging people to cooperate with the police and report any suspicious behaviour.

“The campaign aims to reach out to the public and help develop a sense of security so they can report crimes,” Colonel Jamal Jallaf, Deputy Director of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department for Monitoring and Management Affairs, said.

The police earlier set up a toll free hotline 800243-800cid for people to report crimes. The hotline is in five languages, Arabic, English, Persian, Chinese and Urdu.

“The total number of complaints received through the hotline amounted to 1,954 in 2012, 6,093 in 2013, and 564 so far during the current year,” Col Jallaf said.

The drive, held under the patronage of Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to Dubai Police Chief for the Criminal Investigation Department, is targeting all segments of the public and police personnel, to cooperate with each other to gather crime statistics and help reduce the crime rate to ensure the safety of the public.

The campaign also involves the participation of government departments, schools, social and sports clubs to display the campaign’s posters. The campaign’s theme will also be posted on the websites of all target bodies, so as to expand its scope, to benefit all members of the community and ensure safety in the emirate.

Mosques are doing their part by dedicating Friday sermons to speak about the importance of collaboration with security services to report crimes.

“The campaign’s theme, a sense of security, derives from the sixth sense. We want through this campaign to help people use this sense in reporting crimes, thus helping police in reducing crime rates,” Major General Mohammad Saeed Al Merri, Director of the Community Service Department, said.

The US Consulate will participate in the campaign on March 5. Dubai Women’s Association will also take part in the campaign on March 18.

The campaign will also be promoted through social networking sites, Twitter and Facebook. An SMS service will be activated by Dubai Police and participating parties.