Dubai Police brought tears of joy among residents with effective pandemic control

From crime control and security to COVID-19 regulation wasn't an easy transition for Dubai Police. However, Dubai Police yet again proved their capability by helping curb the spread of COVID-19, maintaining public order and promoting safer communities.

Law-enforcement officers kept ensuring local shutdowns, encouraging social distancing and enforcing stay-at-home mandates, all on a war footing.

Despite officers being confronted with a variety of novel challenges, Dubai Police managed to maintain that fine balance between their usual responsibilities and protecting the health of residents by ensuring strict adherence to the COVID protocols announced by the authorities.

Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Director of Traffic Department and a senior member of the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disasters Management in Dubai, said street patrol officers faced various challenges such as the constant risk of contracting the infection, ensuring adherence to government measures and keeping up with numerous alterations in policing protocols.

"Dubai Police played a key role in controlling the pandemic, in cooperation with the other government entities. We used latest technologies such as radars and artificial intelligence to contain the pandemic during movement restrictions,” Brig Al Mazroui told Gulf News.

Police patrols were on roads and at checkpoints on the emirate’s borders as well as at local markets. Drones were used to send awareness messages to beach-goers and other community members. Thermal helmets were worn by the officers to monitor the temperatures of people using public transport.

“During the pandemic, there was a reduction in the crime rate. It fell to almost zero. Moreover, the pandemic was a new challenge for us, but we benefitted from the crisis by gaining new knowledge and we can now pass it on to the next generation to help them learn how to deal with such crises,” added Brig Al Mazroui.

Despite the risk factor, officers of Dubai Police stuck to their task — day in and day out. “The risk was that we had to deal with the public every day, without knowing whether the person in front of us was infected or not. We feared for the health of our families, but we kept working and didn’t leave the field of duty,” he said.

Moreover, Brig Al Mazroui said, 99 per cent of the people in Dubai were aware of the instructions and they followed all the precautionary measures to curb COVID-19. “I was astonished by the level of awareness and responsibility among the community members in Dubai. During the lockdown in the Naif area, many people volunteered to serve the area. Some of them got infected in the process, but they recovered soon and returned to volunteer. That shows the level of unity in society even when faced with the pandemic,” he said.

Brig Al Mazroui praised the support of UAE leaders, especially when Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, visited a police checkpoint on Sheikh Zayed Road during the movement restrictions.

“Officers were checking movement permits when they saw Sheikh Hamdan. It was such a pleasant surprise as he saluted and encouraged the force. Our leaders were amongst us, on the ground, which made us feel even more confident,” said Al Mazroui.

Brig Al Mazroui said the force implemented all the precautionary measures at an early stage of the pandemic by conducting awareness lectures for the members of the force.

“Besides these lectures, each policeman was supplied with a bag containing masks and sanitisers. Protective uniforms were distributed among policemen to deal with wanted suspects during the pandemic. Our vehicles and weapons were sanitised daily and all other precautionary measures were taken to maintain safety.”

Moreover, some officers and policemen were in the field for weeks without going back to their families. Under the directives of Lt Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, Commander-In-Chief of Dubai Police, police teams were formed to follow up on the family members of policemen during their absence from home, to provide them with all their necessities such as food and medicines.

“We even conducted PCR tests at their homes and provided their families with all necessary medical treatment and checks. Later, vaccination was also provided to them,” Brig Al Mazroui added.

As movement restrictions were applied in 2020 to control the spread of COVID-19, Dubai Police created a website to issue permits to those who needed to step outside their homes to collect essential supplies such as food and medicines.

“Dealing with the public was hard in the early stages of movement restrictions. We created a website for people to obtain permits to step out during emergencies. People were able to use the permit easily, using the dedicated website, to fetch their daily necessities,” added Brig Al Mazroui.

He also pointed out that meetings were held every single day during peak pandemic days with the chief of Dubai Police and the other teams from various government departments to keep life normal for the public as far as possible.

“We didn’t have time to rest. We were among the people in labour camps, distributing food and supplies. Companies received support from us, as well as people who were trapped in the country due to the flight restrictions,” he said.

Despite all their usual policing duties, law-enforcement officers in Dubai never lost track of the animals and pets that were abandoned by their owners as many were trapped outside the country during the pandemic.

Brig Al Mazroui said Dr Manal Al Mansouri from Dubai Animal Welfare called him, asking for help to reach the pets that were left alone at homes or in public parks.

“She told me that they were responsible to feed the pets at homes, but during the movement restrictions, they couldn’t secure a permit as the permits were only meant for emergencies. Dubai Police then provided patrols to escort the members from Dubai Animal Welfare to look after the animals and rescue them, in coordination with Dubai Municipality. We didn’t forget the animals despite our massive responsibilities,” Brig Al Mazroui said.

As Dubai decided to lockdown the Naif area in 2020 due to the high rate of COVID cases there, some infected people from Naif were taken outside the area for treatment. When they recovered and returned, there was a pleasant surprise waiting for them.

“As they returned, residents of Naif area were celebrating their return. People from different nationalities in the Naif area were chanting the UAE national anthem and cheering. It was an unforgettable day and a moment that brought tears to everyone’s eyes,” Brig Al Mazroui said.