Police earn praise for programme offering guidance to teenagers

Dubai Police have been praised for helping teenagers to make better decisions and stay on the right path.

A Emirati pupil, 16, spoke The National about the benefits of the Naseej initiative run by the police.

He participated in the programme after he was involved in a fight at school, with videos circulated on social media.

About a dozen pupils became embroiled in the violence and all of them, including those who filmed the incident, were summoned by the authorities.

The pupils and their parents were then informed of the Naseej initiative.

“My parents were really enthusiastic about it, and so was I,” the pupil said. Some of the pupils were initially apprehensive, especially about staying overnight at a police centre, he said.

But he learnt a lot from activities including daily exercise, self-control techniques and legal education.

“I started noticing a positive shift in my behaviour within the first few days,” he said.

“My academic performance improved, especially in my favourite subjects – maths and physics.

“I’ve started to react more proportionately to situations, giving them their due weight.”

The teenager, who is in his final year of high school, is focused on pursuing a university degree that will allow him to give back something to his community.

“I’m grateful to Dubai Police for their guidance instead of punishment,” he said.

Naseej, launched in March in co-ordination with parents, aims to help teenagers in the emirate who have been reported to the police over cases of disruptive behaviour.

“Between March and October, some youngsters were reported to the police by members of the public, while others were detected by officers,” said Col Dr Abdulrahman Al Muamari,

director of Dubai Police’s Hemaya International Centre.

Behaviour including stunt driving, fighting and using cans of spray paint in public places have been highlighted by the drive and can lead to criminal prosecution.

Col Dr Al Muamari said the programme was intended to help young people avoid appearing in court and address the root causes of their issues.

Four groups of teenagers have participated in the first eight months of the programme.

The first group spent 30 days at the Dubai Police training centre in March.

Naseej is among the initiatives established by the force to tackle issues such as teenage drug abuse, which has dropped by 77 per cent.

Police have focused on repeat users aged between 15 and 23. The drug abuse rate among first-time users in that age group has been cut by 29 per cent following the efforts of the authorities.

The programmes were launched by the Hemaya International Centre, which is linked to the General Department of Anti-Narcotics, between 2017 and last year.

A series of community initiatives and activities aim to reduce drug use among young people in the emirate.

The centre seeks to provide community support and focuses on drug-related issues to prevent crime.

It has helped people from about 130 countries, including pupils, students, parents and education staff.

“The summer course attracted 1,342 pupils, including 952 first-timers from 19 nationalities,” Col Dr Al Muamari said.

The winter course, which got under way on Monday, involves 500 pupils and includes training in artificial intelligence and sessions with the police K9 unit.

These are to focus on police and criminal investigation statistics, as well as efforts to improve awareness of the harm caused by offenders.

Other parts of the course will help people and families to tackle drug use through regular testing.

“Our goal is to deter crime in our society,” Col Dr Al Muamari said.

“By raising awareness, we aim to reduce crime rates and alleviate the burden on police and legal authorities.”

Naseej was launched in March and aims to help teenagers in the emirate who have been reported for disruptive behaviour