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29 March 2024

Serious crime in Dubai down 24%

The category covers murder, sexual and physical assaults, prostitution, robbery and theft. (AGENCIES)

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By Staff

The number of serious crimes recorded by Dubai Police fell by 24 per cent last year, according to latest figures released.

Dubai Police registered 2,485 such crimes last year compared with 3,265 in 2009, its annual report said.

The category covers murder, sexual and physical assaults, prostitution, robbery and theft.

The reduction was mostly a result of efficient security programmes and increased police visibility, said Brig Khalil Al Mansouri, who heads the Dubai police Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

He said there had been a 70 per cent increase in CID officer numbers in the past year.

Among the security programmes implemented last year was one called 888, in Rashidiya, in which police increased their presence after a crime in a specific area until they caught the perpetrators and ensured that instances of the crime were eliminated from the area.

Thefts and robberies made up more than 70 per cent of the total number of serious crimes last year, with more than 1,800 cases reported.

Those were being addressed through better co-ordination between the CID and individual police stations, he said.

Among offences considered less serious, drug cases registered in the emirate dropped by more than 30 per cent, down to 676 compared with 975 in 2009, the report said.
 
More than 1,000 people were arrested in connection with drugs offences this year, according to the report, including a man police describe as the country’s most prolific drug trafficker.

Major Gen Abdul al Jalil Mahdi, the head of the police anti-drugs department, has said that intensified efforts to combat drug trafficking had paid dividends in 2010.