Dubai Police put smart station technology on display in London
Dubai’s pioneering Smart Police Station caught the attention of academics and government officials at the Future Leaders Assembly in London.
The station allows the public to report crimes and to obtain certificates without ever having to meet a police officer. It opened last year at City Walk and is the first facility of its kind in the world.
There are plans to build three more in the city.
“The smart police station is all about technology, there is no human interaction in it,” First Lt Abdullah Al Shaikh of Dubai Police told The National. “You can go into the police station and deal only with the technology inside.”
He said it gave residents privacy in a comforting environment when reporting a crime.
“You can go to report a crime with full confidentiality, feeling safe in your surroundings; because some people fear police in uniform,” he said.
“You walk in with no people around you and report your incident or obtain a certificate.”
The smart station has been such a success because it is “faster, provides confidentiality and even has a free coffee shop”, said Lt Al Shaikh.
The Friday seminar in London was held under the patronage of Maj Gen Abdullah Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, and was the first time the smart station technology was shown in the UK.
The event was attended by the UAE Ambassador to the UK, Sulaiman Al Mazroui, council chairmen from Dubai Police, as well as academic professors, experts and UAE students studying in the UK.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt also sent attaches.
Most of the questions asked at the seminar, at The Dorchester hotel, were about technology.
Lt Al Shaikh said: “Now we have been approached by ministries of interior from several countries to share our experiences. They want to implement the same methods for their organisations.”
Delegations from Saudi Arabia and China have already visited the Dubai smart station.
Dubai Police are also working on a drive-through station, which would allow users to report cases from their cars.