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Dubai among world's safest cities as serious crimes decline

Dubai - Drug cases have declined in the past 5 years, from 15 per 100,000 population down to 14.3 in 2017.

Dubai's serious crimes index has dropped by 38 per cent in the past 5 years, making it the safest city in the world.
Major-General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Criminal Investigation for the Dubai Police, said the statistics showed a drop in theft crimes, dropping from 22 crimes per 100,000 population to just 12.6 per 100,000, in 2017.
According to the Dubai Police strategy, it is expected to fall significantly in 2018 and later, especially after the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to reduce crime.
The statistics also indicated that murder crimes dropped from 0.5 in 2016 to 0.3 in 2017 for every 100,000 population, while violent and aggressive crimes in the past 5 years went from 2.2 crimes per 100,000 and dropped to 1.2 by the end of 2017, pointed out Al Mansouri.
General crimes have decreased since 2013, registering around 0.2 by the end of 2017. Robberies went from 3.8 in 2013 to 2.1 by the end of last year, while kidnapping cases also dropped from 0.2 in 2013 to 0.1 in 2017.
Vehicle thefts in 2013 were 3.8 per 100,000 population, and fell to 1.7 in 2017. All the stolen vehicles were also recovered after being smuggled to neighbouring countries, in cooperation with the competent authorities there.
Drug-related cases drop
Drug cases have also declined in the past 5 years, from 15 per 100,000 population down to 14.3 in 2017, while human trafficking crimes has recorded the lowest rates in the world, dropping from 0.2 in 2013 to 0.1 in 2017.
Al Mansouri noted that the Dubai Police is one of the first forces in the UAE to establish the anti-crime department, besides special security teams to monitor hotspots and detect security gaps - such as abandoned homes and cars - around the emirate and report about it. The police then takes action to prevent any kind of crimes in these spots.
The police official noted that the security authorities in Dubai are working according to a future foresight strategy on security, making it the safest place in the world as per all indicators, such as an enhanced sense of security and changing the stereotypes about police personnel.
Despite the emirate's rapid expansion, the Dubai Police is proactively working to prevent international crimes that affect the UAE, such as drug dealing and cybercrimes. The legal legislation in the country is one of the strongest globally, acting as a deterrent to those who attempt tampering with its security structure, Al Mansouri stated.
amira@khaleejtimes.com