Cops help cure phobia
ajman — When a Pakistani man aired his 21-year-old daughter’s fear of cops on Ajman Radio 4, the emirate’s police chief happened to be listening to the programme. He immediately asked his subordinates for more details. The police established contact with the family and invited them to Al Humaidiya police station. What they did after that ended her police phobia for good.
A top police official said General Sheikh Sultan bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Commander-in-Chief of the Ajman Police, heard the woman’s father voicing his grouse on radio. The father said his daughter suffered from a psychological problem caused by her fear of the police.
Lt.-Col Yahya Al Matroushi, director of Al Humaidiya police station, said the daughter had been suffering from the phobia since she was four years old. So intense was her phobia that she had to quit her university in her home country and come to the UAE.
The psychiatrist treating his daughter advised the father to appeal to police authorities to intervene in the matter, as a visit to the police station could help break the barrier.
It could change the image of the police that she had in her mind, the psychiatrist added.
When they visited the police station, Lt.-Col Al Matroushi and Captain Ahmed Al Shamsi, head of criminal investigation department at the station, took the woman around and introduced her to different police procedures. The officers also offered her gifts.
After the visit, the woman expressed happiness over having seen and known the police from close quarters. She thanked them and wished them success in performing their duties.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com