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Meet Dubai Police’s lady captain, who has spent 26 years as a criminal investigator

She was awarded the ‘Mother Idol’ in 2020 for balancing her roles

Captain Ganima Al Muttawa is a lady cop who made the impossible possible at Dubai Police.

After joining the force as a sergeant in 1993, Captain Ganima climbed her way up to become a seasoned criminal investigator by solving one mysterious crime after another.

Captain Ganima began her career as a policewoman at the Muraqqabat Police Station after she passed the special military training as a fresh high school graduate. Although she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, her passion for working in policing and criminal investigation led her toward fulfilling her dream.

“Since my early days in the force, I was taken by the investigators’ work I witnessed during my night-shift duties. I grew more curious over time and couldn’t rest until I asked the criminal investigators in my station to teach me the basics. They taught me how to receive reports, utilise the investigation techniques and criminal research and procedures, interrogate and ask questions, and collect and analyse data,” she said.

“As I became more familiar with the daily reports, my appetite to take on more criminal investigation tasks increased. I trained myself with 20 specialisation courses and sought the guidance of public prosecutors in police stations to benefit from their legal expertise in criminal cases.

A seasoned criminal investigator

Capt Ganima proved to be an excellent asset as she worked on many crucial investigations that were reported to the station. In 1996, she earned the title of ‘criminal investigator’ and began her journey. Speaking about her first case as a special investigator, Capt Ganima, said, “I was assigned to investigate a shoplifting case involving a woman. I was proud to close the case by myself and referred the offender to the concerned teams at the public prosecution.”

Role of women in Dubai Police

From then on, many criminal cases followed. She handled and showed enormous capabilities that earned her a deputy head of the Criminal Registration Section at the Muraqqabat Police Station.

“My experience as a criminal investigator over the past 26 years proves that women's role in this field is as crucial as men's. They excel in cases involving women and children for their ability to obtain statements with witnesses from both categories and show more flexibility when approached by a female officer,” she said.

“The Dubai Police provides women with extraordinary support and empowerment to engage them in various fields, including the field of criminal investigation, which I am exceedingly grateful for," she said.

Last June, the Dubai Police General Command inaugurated Al Khawaneej Police Station. Captain Ganima was appointed head of the Station's Criminal Registration Section. There, she performed assigned significant tasks, including supervising the collection of crimes-related data, submitting reports and statistics, reviewing cases to be referred to the Public Prosecution, and giving lessons to employees alongside administrative work.

Since the beginning of this year, Captain Ganima has handled and supervised 661 criminal reports in the police station’s jurisdiction area. Moreover, since the establishment of the Al Khawaneej Police Station, she handed 306 reports in the second half of 2021.

During her professional journey, Captain Ganima obtained many badges of appreciation, appreciation certificates, and excellence awards in the professional field. She succeeded in balancing work duties and her role as a mother, so she was awarded the ‘Mother Idol’ in 2020. Captain Ganima was nominated to compete in the ‘Family Idol’ award of the Minister of Interior.

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