Watch out: Image police on the prowl

Litter bugs, beware of small green-and-lime patterned cars: The personnel inside are members of Dubai Municipality's image police, whose job is to keep the city spick and span.

Seven vehicles are now going around communities to keep the municipality's services departments on their toes, while looking out for violators, especially litter bugs and those who habitually spit in public.

"We go around Dubai and inform the municipality about setbacks in services," said Khalid Abdul Rahim, assistant director of the Department of Municipality Centres which runs the Public Quality Service Assurance inspections.

If garbage is piled up at a certain spot, the inspectors take a picture of the scene and send details to the concerned sections in the municipality. If trees have fallen or dirt is everywhere, they will be dealt with immediately, he said.

"We will not wait for complaints to be made. Rather, we will take the initiative ourselves before anything piles up or looks ugly," added Abdul Rahim.

The team does its rounds from 8am to 10am everyday. It can fine anyone caught littering or spitting or spoiling the image of the city.

They take pictures of the licence plates of the offender's vehicle and send it to the Municipality, which then forwards it to the police.

Fines for littering start from Dh100, depending on the seriousness of the violation.

"We deal with each violation according to its gravity. If there is a car accident and oil is spilled; we immediately go and clean it up. Our main priority is to preserve the image of Dubai," said an inspector at the civic body.

What you can do

Call 800 900 to report unsightly scenes and littering in the city.