Smart bail takes effect in all Dubai police stations

The Dubai Public Prosecution's Smart Bail initiative - in which passports of defendants are no longer confiscated - is now implemented in all police stations across Dubai.
"If the prosecutor deems that the defendant deserves to be released on bail, he will gain his freedom without having his passport seized," said Dr Ali Humaid bin Khatim, counselor, advocate-general and chief of naturalisation and residency prosecution, in an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times. However, the defendant will not be able to travel outside the country as "his name will be listed at all the exits of the UAE".
Customer satisfaction for bail services has spiked from 43 per cent to 81 per cent since the initiative was introduced at Jebel Ali police station in February for a six-month trial period, said Dr Bin Khatim.
"We wanted to see how effective the system is, together with the Dubai Police. Consequently, when we saw the results up to August, we rolled it out on all other police stations across Dubai."
Previously, if a person is charged with a criminal offence or has a complaint filed against him at the police station, his passport, or the passport of another person bailing him out, was confiscated until his release.
"Now, the number of seized passports has been cut down by 43 per cent. It went down from 15,012 to 8,506. The number of customers at the bail centre has also been reduced by 50 per cent, from 35,165 to 17,656. The number of detainees at the police stations has also been reduced by 70 per cent," said the advocate-general.
Up to August this year, the initiative was applied to 60 per cent of misdemeanour cases. At a later stage, the system will also apply to other criminal cases and some big cases, such as breach of trust and embezzlement, where more guarantees are necessary. "The prosecutor will decide on the bail of the defendant, depending on the circumstances of the case and evidence," Dr Bin Khatim said.
Normal life for the accused
Thanks to the initiative, defendants on bail will now be able to take charge of their financial obligations and other affairs because they have their passports, he added.
"Having the passports of the defendant or his bailor seized would usually disrupt their personal interests and affairs, (such as) renewal of residency visas, expired passports, family visas or trade licences. All of these renewal procedures require a passport. Now with the Smart Bail system, the person gets to keep his passport and is able to go about his life and business and other paperwork easily," said Dr Bin Khatim.
The name of the defendant remains in the law enforcement bodies' database until a verdict comes out from the court or the public prosecution dismisses the case.
"(The Smart Bail) does not change, in any way, the legal status of the persons involved; whether they are accused in a case that is under investigation or a case seen at the Dubai courts. The defendant will still be committed to attend the trial and investigation hearings. The travel ban is not lifted until the case is settled by the court with a final verdict, which is then executed or dismissed by the public prosecution," said the counselor, who is also the head of the judicial auditing unit at the Attorney General's Technical Office.
A first in the world
Smart Bail is not only new in the UAE, but across the world. It is an integrated system that applies to all defendants of all nationalities and it is not restricted to a certain category.
A special task force stands behind the initiative, which includes counselor Yousef Hasan Al Muttaweh, the assistant attorney-general, who oversaw the initiative.
Dubai Public Prosecution vies for the Sheikh Hamdan award for smart services
With Smart Bail, the Dubai Public Prosecution aims to uphold human rights and freedom. Residents may support the department in their endeavours by voting for the initiative, which was one of eight programmes nominated for the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Award for Smart Government.
To vote, log on to the Sheikh Hamdan award smart application or visit http://vote.dtmc.gov.ae.
 How Smart Bail fared from February to August
>81%-Customer satisfaction after Smart Bail implementation
>70%-Reduction in number of detainees at police stations
>60%-Percentage of misdemeanour cases where Smart Bail was applied
>43%-Reduction in number of confiscated passports
>50%-Reduction in number of people at the bail centre
>7 minutes-Service time with Smart Bail, from the usual 27 minutes
mary@khaleejtimes.com