Police receive half-a-million calls in one month
The emergency number 999 received 432,477 calls while 901 received 120,960 calls from 26 March to 28 April. Majority of these phone calls were inquiries related to the preventive measures put in place by Dubai and the movement permit.”
dubai — A total of 553,406 phone calls were attended by the Command and Control Centre of the Dubai Police during the National Sterilisation Programme, a top official has said.
Colonel Turki bin Faris, director of the centre, said the emergency number 999 received 432,477 calls while 901 (non-emergency number) received 120,960 calls from 26 March to 28 April. “Majority of these phone calls were inquiries related to the precautionary and preventive measures put in place by Dubai and the movement permit. The centre received a record 52,000 phone calls in a single day immediately after the launch of the movement permit system.”
Col Faris said callers could be grouped under two main types. “The first constituted employees in the public and private sectors. Key questions they asked were related to commuting to work, getting a movement permit, the number of passengers allowed in a car and requirements to wear masks and gloves. The second type of callers asked questions about precautionary measures, and movement permits for shopping and movement within their own area,” he said.
He added that while calls on precautionary measures increased, calls to report criminal and traffic violations decreased significantly.
Colonel Turki bin Faris, director, Command and Control Centre