New child interrogation room opens in Dubai

Sessions are made stress-free with the newly- introduced room

Two special rooms, one dedicated for the interrogation of children and juveniles and another for offering reconciliation and counselling for spouses, were recently inaugurated by the Dubai Juvenile and Family Prosecution.
Advocate-general Mohammed Ali Rustom bu Abdullah, head of the prosecution, told Khaleej Times: "The child room was inaugurated few weeks ago. Installations are already in place for holding hearings via CCTV, whereas parties involved will no longer have to visit the public prosecution to give statements but can do so via video conference. We are just awaiting a law on this."
Female specialists in child psychology assist in the interrogation of a child. Such sessions are made stress-free with the newly- introduced room where the children can draw and enjoy games and thus don't feel under any kind of mental pressure that might be felt in ordinary interrogation rooms.
The reconciliation room is a specially-arranged room fitted with cozy decoration, furniture and relaxing colours that will help spouses feel more at ease and will boost the process of amicable settlements. "The actual average of such amicable settlements range from 35 to 40 per cent but we are looking to make it higher. We have been facing a hard time in family cases due to the stubbornness and rigid attitudes of spouses," bu Abdullah explained.
In one case, a woman beat her husband when he considered having a second wife. He was willing to get back together provided she signed a certain moral vow which she did not approve of. The case is still under investigation.
The Family and Juvenile Prosecution investigated 260 juvenile cases in 2016 as compared to 323 cases in 2015 and 286 cases in 2014.
For the family cases, 568 cases were examined in 2016. "As many as 537 cases were looked into in 2015 and 539 cases in 2014," the advocate-general revealed.
Awareness programmes
The Family and Juvenile Prosecution has been engaged in organising programmes aimed at raising the awareness of the youth. 'Nebras', for instance, targets school students aged between 14 and 17 years. Under this programme, educational lectures are given to youngsters on laws, and consultations are offered to parents as well.
The 'shining stars' programme targets students aged below 14 years. Both programmes are carried out in coordination with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority and schools.
mary@khaleejtimes.com