Dubai: A newly-updated version of the Dubai Police mobile application is the highest-rated government app in the UAE – making it the number one government app in the UAE, a senior Dubai Police official said.
Colonel Khalid Nasser Al Razouqi, General Director of Smart Services at Dubai Police, told Gulf News that police are thrilled with the rising popularity of the app which is available across both Apple and Android platforms, the latter of which was launched on November 5, 2013.
The app, to date, is the most downloaded government app in the UAE, Col Al Razouqi said. Statistics by Dubai Police show that the new update was the number one trending app in the UAE in Google Play store within three days of its launch and was downloaded more than 10,000 times in less than a week.
There’s good reason for the growing popularity of the app, he said, noting that it includes a handful of critical online services by Dubai Police with the simple tap on a mobile phone. People can access their fines and pay them through the app, apply for a good conduct certificate, get a list of pharmacies which are open, and take photos of vehicles violating traffic rules and send them to Dubai Police. The last mentioned was launched last week.
Police are also planning a service that allows people to send pictures of bounced cheques directly to police online through the app in cases of alleged fraud.
Col Al Razouqi said the icon placement in the app was well thought out, as the most popular services are placed first.
He added that the app is very intuitive and voice-command enabled. There is also the SOS Button imbedded in the app, which is an emergency call-back service, that also determines your location for immediate assistance.
The app will constantly update with new services and features. “We aim to increase public satisfaction and provide mobile services that will make people’s lives easier and save their time,” Col Al Razouqi said.
He said that this is part of the initiative by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, towards Smart Government. While there is no app for Blackberry, iPads or Windows platforms, people can access Dubai Police’s mobile site, which is compatible with all platforms, he said.
Traffic services popular
Traffic services are among the most popular services accessed by people on the app. Latest data provided by Dubai Police showed there were more than 1.9 million fine inquiries across all platforms since the launch of the new app. Of the 1.9 million, 795,641 inquiries were done through the mobile site, which Col Al Razouqi said shows there is still a demand for the mobile site.
People paid over Dh17 million worth of traffic fines using the apps and through the mobile site. Dubai Police app won the Best M-Government Service at the Government Summit in 2014, as well as the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Award for Smart Government in 2013.
