How the Dubai Police’s portable operating rooms nab criminals
dubai — The Dubai Police are using two innovative portable briefcases equipped with state-of-theart technology that not only work as operating rooms during their field operations but also allow them to communicate with the main command control centre in emergencies.
Abdulla Al Shamsi, head of wireless systems at the Dubai Police, said: “The portable bags speed up the way police respond to emergencies. The briefcases can be taken to areas that are not accessible by police vehicles such as the middle of the sea or desert.”
When the portable operating room was first launched in 2017, the briefcase measured 80cmx55cmx37cm and weighed 45kg. A more compact bag was launched in January this year which measures 80cmx50cmx31cm and weighs 20kg.
Lt Col Khaled Al Mazmi from the communication department at the Dubai Police, said: “Currently, we only have two portable briefcases — the new one that was launched this year and an old one from 2017. The old portable bag had to be operated by two or four police officers because of its huge weight whereas the new portable bag can be operated by only one person as it’s easy to carry and move around. We are testing out the units to see if we can remove any of the features in order to make the briefcase even smaller, lighter and more compact. We eventually would like to provide these units to every department and police station in Dubai.”
The briefcases are solar-powered and have a host of gadgets that help in nabbing wanted cars and criminals. “We use different types of software in our main command control centre. We have brought some of those systems in this portable operation room, such as the patrol tracking system, Internet Protocol (IP) camera and communication devices. The portable bag can access the local internet system and share information with the patrol cars and the main control room through communication devices placed inside the bag,” added Al Mazmi.