Dubai: Stealing, pickpocketing reduce in Deira neighbourhood

Criminal activities such as stealing, pickpocketing and shoplifting have drastically reduced in the congested Naif neighbourhood in Deira.

There has been a 60 per cent dip in criminal activities in 2019, as compared to a year-ago period, Naif Police Station’s official data showed.

In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, Brigadier Dr Tariq Mohammed Noor Tahlak, director of Naif Police Station, attributed the demography in the area under his force’s jurisdiction as the primary reason for a spike in criminal activities until 2018, which have since come down significantly.

Naif’s population is diverse, who are largely engaged in small jobs. He pointed out Naif is a major tourist attraction, and roads would be filled with visitors during the day in pre-Covid-19 times.

Prior to 2018, the crime was on an upswing, which led the force to implement the “Al Hazm” initiative in a bid to make the neighbourhood safer and crime free. Closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras were installed in the neighbourhood to prevent criminal activities and nab criminals.

Brig Dr Tahlak explained the modus operandi of the force’s work. Initially, a complaint is lodged followed by the police speaking to a victim, a team is formed to investigate the case and then policemen visit the spot, where the crime was committed. The policemen look for all kinds of evidence at the scene of the crime such as droplets of blood, saliva or hair particles. They check CCTV footage for more personal information about a criminal such as clothes, skin tone, facial features, accent of language in a bid to ascertain the person’s nationality. All information is meticulously gathered before investigators zero in on an accused.

“Al Hazm” initiative was rolled out in the middle of 2018 amid great success, and it was discontinued by the end of 2019. The plan was implemented until the end of the National Sterilisation Programme in 2020.

Brig Dr Tahlak cited mostly visitors in the neigbourhood are targeted by criminals, but local residents, too, fall prey. He lauded the force’s single-minded devotion to the call of duty in an appreciable dip in criminal activities in Naif.

Modus operandi of crime

Cops at Naif Police Station have analysed the nature of crime and came to the conclusion that criminals would deploy three primary ways to rob their victims of valuables.

Brigadier Dr Tariq Mohammed Noor Tahlak, director of Naif Police Station, explained that criminals would work in a group of two or three persons in tandem. Typically, they would either pick up a quarrel with a victim by kicking a person out of the blue, where the third criminal in the gang would steal the money, and other valuable belongings. Similarly, a third person may try to mediate and pull a fast one on the victim, or pin down the victim on the ground and decamp with his cash and other valuables.

hesham@khaleejtimes.com