UAE-wide community policing
Starting next year, all cadets will be trained to focus on building ties and working with the community
Following training of hundreds of residents as community police officers, the UAE now plans to transform traditional police forces into community police, LieutenantGeneral Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, told the Federal national Council (FNC) yesterday.
“All [traditional] police forces across the country will become community police — an organisation-wide approach that promotes community, government, and police partnerships; proactive problem-solving; and community engagement to address the causes of crime, fear of crime, and other community issues,” Shaikh Saif said.
He was speaking during a debate on the Interior Ministry’s policy, especially the demand by FNC members that community policing be extended to all emirates.
Interior ministry strategy
Shaikh Saif said from 2019, all cadets will be trained to become community police officers as part of a strategy of policing that focuses on building ties and working closely with members of the community to achieve their objectives and strategies and establishing partnerships with other organisations such as government agencies, community members, non-profit service providers, private businesses and the media.
Shaikh Saif thanked the other wing of community policing — more than 1,000 doctors, lawyers, university professors and other people from all walks of life who have been trained to become community police and are contributing to ensure the security and safety of the society.
He also voiced gratitude to philanthropists who bailed out prisoners and cleared financial liabilities of 7,800 inmates and 906 families.
A scheme in which Emiratis and expatriates can be trained to become community police officers was launched in Abu Dhabi in September 2016. The ‘We Are All Police’ initiative in Abu Dhabi allowed hundreds of volunteers to be given training to liaise with the community and assist fulltime police officers.
There are currently 34,000 police officers in Abu Dhabi or a police officer for every 81 people. By 2021, the aim is to have more than 47,500 officers and We Are All Police community support officers — representing one officer for every 58 people. The scheme is modelled on a similar one in Tokyo, which has seen a drastic fall in crime rates since it was introduced.
Shaikh Saif stressed the Ministry of Interior’s commitment to work as per its strategy to attain the ultimate objective to position the UAE at the forefront of the countries with the lowest violent crime rates in the world by 2021.
Murders and road fatalities
“The UAE has the fourth lowest murder rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people, after Switzerland which has 0.5 per 100,0000,” Shaikh Saif said. The UAE has the world’s lowest sexual crime and robbery rate.
On road fatalities, Shaikh Saif said the UAE ranked seventh after Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Sweden. “Deaths caused by traffic accidents have decreased to five per 100,000 people last year from 13.5 in 2008. Our strategy is to reduce the mortality rate to three per 100,000 of the population by 2021, to become among the top countries in the world.”
Shaikh Saif said the UAE has the fewest fire incidents in the world or 19 fires per 100,000 people. Japan comes second with 36 fires per 100,000 people. In fire fatalities, the UAE came second with 0.014 per 100,000 people.
“The UAE is the world’s second most stable and secure country with 96.8 per cent of people expressing satisfaction with their security at night after Singapore with 97 per cent.”