Dubai: Residents in Sharjah should not be alarmed when police come knocking on your door next month. It is all part of a census.
The Department of Statistics and Community Development in Sharjah (DSCD), in cooperation with Sharjah Police, announced that they will be carrying out a two-week study throughout the emirate to determine how safe residents feel in their community.
The upcoming study is due to take place on August 15, 2019.
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Humaid Al Qasimi, head of DSCD, said the department has already prepared a number of opinion polls and surveys for government bodies, and was able to interpret the results based on scientific statistical methodologies.
We are proud that Sharjah Police placed its trust in our department to prepare and carry out this study using scientific statistical methodologies.
More than 5,000 Emiratis and expats are expected to be surveyed, and will be asked to either fill out a questionnaire or respond by a telephone interview. All questions will be carried out in the three most popular languages spoken in Sharjah; Arabic, English and Urdu.
“We are proud that Sharjah Police placed its trust in our department to prepare and carry out this study using scientific statistical methodologies, which ensures the accuracy of the study’s results and their representation of the emirate's society,” said Shaikh Mohammad Bin Humaid.
The emirate’s population stands at over 1.4 million people, including 175,432 Emiratis and over 1,2 million expatriates, according to a 2015 census carried out by the DSCD.
Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, said: “[We] are keen to achieve the aspirations of all citizens and residents in the emirate, and reach beyond their expectations.”
The study, titled Safe Community, is part of the Sharjah Government’s initiative to continuously monitor and analyse police services, and to achieve the highest rate of customer happiness.
Brig Dr Khalid Hamad Al Hammadi, director of the police research centre, pointed out that the collaboration between police and the DSCD will achieve “an unprecedented achievement in the field of opinion polls in the areas of security as it covers all areas of the emirate.”
The study, Al Hammadi continued, constitutes the first building brick in the field of continuous studies with the department, which achieves effective and continuous community interaction with all the beneficiaries of the services delivered by police.
This latest census is part of Sharjah’s efforts to improve government services.
The last major census was carried out in 2017 by police in collaboration with the Department of Districts and Villages in Sharjah, which was used to pinpoint the happiest and safest areas in the city.
Al Khalidiya was named as the safest district in the city to live in, with Al Rahmaniya being the most vibrant.
