Abu Dhabi safest city in world for second year

Abu Dhabi has been ranked the safest city in the world for a second consecutive year, with Dubai in 11th place, according to a website that collates crime statistics on the world’s major cities.

Numbeo, a website for crowdsourced global data, placed the capital first and gave it the lowest crime index in its list of more than 300 cities.

“Safety is paramount when choosing a city to visit or live and work in and we are proud to be top of the list for the second year running,” said Saif Ghobash, Undersecretary at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.

“Our capital’s strong reputation for safety and a virtually crime-free society is a testament to the ongoing efforts to establish the emirate as a destination of distinction with international standards of safety. And we hope that adds to all visitors and residents of Abu Dhabi enjoying their time and making the most of our renowned Emirati hospitality.”

The index ranked 338 cities and is an estimation of overall safety levels in any given city or country. It also measures the cost of living, pollution, the cost of travel and quality of life.

Abu Dhabi’s crime index was 13.63, better than 14.41 last year, while Dubai’s was 19.03, a slight improvement on 19.50 last year.

Police have been aggressive about tackling what crime there is, including drug use.

In June, Dubai’s most senior security official said police were “at war” with traffickers after a large rise in the amount of drugs seized in the UAE.

Nationwide figures showed anti-narcotics officers arrested 6,440 people in relation to drug smuggling and drug use last year, up from 5,130 the previous year.

“When smuggling techniques are detected by the anti-narcotics unit, traffickers create new ones. Police must focus on busting drug lords rather than addicts,” said Lt Gen Dhahi Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security in Dubai, speaking at the time.

On Numbeo’s scale, a score of 1 would be no crime at all and 100 would be extremely dangerous.

After Abu Dhabi, the nine safest cities were Doha, Basel, Singapore, Quebec City, Osaka, Tokyo, Bern, Munich and Zurich, in that order.

The most dangerous were San Pedro Sula in Honduras and Caracas in Venezuela, where gun violence, drug dealing and kidnapping are rife.

Also in the bottom 10 were the South African cities of Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg.