Dubai: Dubai Police are rolling out a slew of crime-prevention procedures to protect people, especially bank customers who are robbed as they leave bank premises with large amounts of cash, an officer said.
Brigadier Salem Al Rumaithi, director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation, said the new campaign has been developed after a thorough analysis of past crimes.
“We have put in place plans to reduce crimes bank customers face in areas that have many banks or money transfer offices like Naif and Al Rafaa,” Brig Al Rumaithi said.
Dubai Police have noticed common mistakes bank customers make that led to robberies and scams like carrying the money and walking for a long distance or counting the money in front of strangers.
Sending one employee to withdraw money from a company’s bank account or deposit employees’ salary is another major mistake some persons make, police said.
“As part of the campaign, we are now deploying more officers near banks to prevent crimes before they happen by monitoring the customers and providing security to them,” he said.
Police are focusing on other types of crime as well.
Lieutenant-Colonel Dr Rashid Al Muaini, head of patrols in the Crime Prevention Department, said they arrested 2,126 suspects in the first half of the year and spotted 162 stolen vehicles dumped in different parts of the city for use by criminals later.
Police patrolling has been stepped up near petrol stations and grocery stores to prevent car robberies that happen when drivers leave the car open and the engine running as they run into a shop to quickly pick up an item or two.
“We are also keen to educate the public about crimes like cheating of car owners by frauds who buy vehicles and issue cheques which would bounce. Recently, a woman sold her car for Dh250,000 but the cheque for the amount given by the buyer was rejected by the bank,” Lt-Col Al Muaini said.
Police have also launched another campaign to prevent robberies in schools in view of the new school year when new students are enrolled. “We are raising awareness of school management by advising them not to keep money on the premises to prevent robberies,” Brig Al Rumaithi said.
Another crime police focus on is burglaries at commercial shops. Police were recently alerted about suspects breaking into shops in Ras Al Khor area. After a thorough investigation, the department arrested four Asian suspects who confessed to committing the robberies. The suspects were handed over to Al Rashidiya police station.
