The UAE is one of the safest places in the world to live in and statistics released by the Ministry of Interior on Monday are testament to this. Here are the safety indicators of 2017:
dubai — The UAE has achieved an almost 97 per cent record in establishing a sense of safety and security in the country, in accordance with the UAE 2021 Vision, top officials said on Monday.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said that it achieved its national agenda indicators, including controlling the crime rate and road accidents per 100,000 population, civil defence indicators for fires and deaths, emergency response rates, police services, and safety and security.
The MoI announced this on Monday at the Dubai Police Officers’ Club, at a Press conference attended by Lt Gen Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai; Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police for Operations Affairs and Chairman of the Federal Traffic Council; and other top police and security officials.
Lt-Gen Dhahi Khalfan said in his opening speech that the UAE is keen to enhance security and safety as well as the UAE National Agenda 2021’s determinants and priorities, to catapult it to the top spot in the safest countries list.
Safety, security index
Brigadier General Abdul Qudous Abdul Razzaq Al Obaidli, assistant commander for quality and excellence at the Dubai Police, said that the sense of safety and security achieved in 2017 stood at 96.8 per cent, higher than 2016’s 93.6 per cent.
According to a comparison with the Gallup Report on Global Law and Order 2017, the UAE came second among developed countries, ahead of advanced world nations such as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Spain, in safety and security aspects. The survey also took into account how safe residents felt while moving around alone at night.
Brig-Gen Al Obaidli pointed out the challenges in ensuring security, including the presence of over 200 nationalities who reside in the UAE, and the varying concepts of safety perceived by them.
On the emergency response index, Major General Sheikh Sultan bin Ab-dullah Al Nuaimi, the Ajman Police Chief, said that the UAE came second in the entire world in 2017.
The success of the emergency response systems was because of the innovative solutions and improved quality and efficiency which strengthened the country’s position as per international indicators.
Maj-Gen Al Zafeen said that the Traffic Deaths Index for every 100,000 population stood at 4.53 in 2017, down from 2016.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) report for 2014-2016, the UAE has achieved competitive figures, comparable with similar global indicators of the best placed countries.
The UAE has strengthened its efforts against disturbing crimes. Brigadier General Hamad Ajlan Al Amimi, director-general of the Federal Criminal Police at MoI, said indicators showed the crime rate in 2017 stood at 67.69 per 100,000 population, a remarkable decline from 2016, when it was 79.1.
The UAE came fourth in the intentional homicide index, still registering better results than Germany, Sweden, Australia, France and Finland. Brigadier General Abdullah Mubarak bin Amer, deputy commander of the Sharjah Police, confirmed that in the security and policing index, the UAE was ranked second in World Business Forum in 2017.
Civil defence indicators
Major-General Jassim Mohammed Al Marzouqi, general commander of civil defence at MoI, said they have taken a number of measures that contributed to the reduced incidence of fires and resulting deaths. The number of fires was 19 per 100,000 population in 2017, and deaths from fire accidents stood at 0.14, taking the second spot globally after Singapore in first position.
Future innovation
Brigadier General Mohammed Humaid bin Dalmuj Al Dhaheri, acting secretary-general of the Prime Minister’s Office, said that the ministry has adopted a forward-looking vision that embraces future aspirations. The tools adopted by MoI included study of security scenarios, and the ‘Delphi’ forecasting method. A smart map is also being built to enhance progress in the targeted indicators.