Combining Tech And Safety: Increasing Community Safety With Dubai’s Smart Police Stations
To bolster and modernize its police force, the Dubai Police department has been developing new initiatives. For instance, Dubai produced its first robot police officer back in 2017. In addition to that, a fleet of driverless patrol cars was also added, along with Aston Martins and Lamborghinis. Now, Dubai is approaching a new phase with Smart Police Stations that have witnessed a lot of interactions.
According to Construction Week, the Dubai Police General Command has confirmed that a total of 48,462 transactions were performed through unmanned Smart Police Stations (SPS) during the first half of 2022. 413,540 people visited Smart Police Stations in all of their forms, including SPS, Drive-Thru, and Walk-in, during the same time frame.
The head of the government and private sector team for smart police stations and the director of the general department for logistic support stated that Dubai residents, visitors, and tourists can easily access smart police services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and without human intervention through these smart police stations, which provide excellent services easily and in accordance with the highest standards.
What are the services offered there?
But what precisely are these smart police stations? It is a self-service, integrated police station where people can apply for Dubai Police services that are offered at conventional police stations. It is the first of its type in the Middle East. The Station offers a wide range of intelligent services, including the filing of criminal reports, the delivery of salvaged items, and the processing of all certificate and permit requests. This style of the self-service station will be installed in numerous new regions and projects throughout the Emirate of Dubai, accompanied by smart and interactive technologies. People will be able to efficiently conduct their transactions through them without having to attend conventional police stations or stand in line.
Improving crime prevention and community safety?
It is significant to note that the Dubai Police was able to service the public when the Covid-19 outbreak prohibited face-to-face interactions since it already had the infrastructure required for digital transactions. As a result, the community has found the Smart Police Station to be of great assistance. According to Zawya, more than 800,000 individuals have gone to these “police stations without cops” in Dubai. According to Dubai Police, the majority of the incidents reported to these smart facilities involved financial fraud, and falsified official papers.
Visitors to stations receive a response from the authorities within 25 minutes, and they immediately refer a case to the appropriate department, 13 Smart Police Stations have previously been inaugurated by the Dubai Police. After the first one debuted in 2017, 12 more have followed amid an increase in client traffic over the years, 2020 saw the opening of four new SPS buildings in the Silicon Oasis, Al Lisaili neighborhood, Dubai Design District, and Jebel Ali Free Zone Facility.
It is significant to mention that this department’s use of smart technology is effective for both the police force and the general public. Although the idea of smart police stations may scare some people because of the risk of system hacking, it actually saves a lot of time and works for both parties to complete the task.
