UAE Hailed as the Safest Country in the World

The UAE has made yet another notable milestone this year after being recently hailed as the safest country in the world. In accordance with officials, 96.1 percent of people said that they feel safe to walk outside at night.

In a statement, Lt. General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and Public Security in Dubai, noted that the national agenda index last year was positive in all safety and security levels, which paved the way for the country to be on top in several fields.

Speaking at a press conference to announce results at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City recently, Lt. Gen Tamim revealed that the survey showed 96.1 percent of people feel safe and secure in the UAE. He also mentioned that the country is first and Singapore came second with 94 percent, adding that the UAE’s strategies and policies were behind the milestone to make it the safest in the world.

Major General Dr. Abdul Quddus Abdul Razzaq Al Obaidly, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Quality and Excellence, cited the lack of signs or lampposts on the streets to spot locations of police stations as one of the reasons for some people not feeling safe and secure.

He also added that their leaders have urged them to improve people’s feeling of safety, highlighting that despite the slump in safety across the world, the UAE has become a safe haven with several security initiatives and projects aided in attaining this.

Major-General Shaikh Sultan Bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Commander-in-Chief of Ajman Police, stressed that the average response times to emergencies place the UAE second to New York City. According to him, GPS in the response system of patrol cars had enabled them to reach the scene of accidents and incidents faster than ever.

Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, head of the Federal Traffic Council, reported that road fatalities also declined with 3.83 casualties per 100,000 people in the UAE in 2018 compared to 4.53 casualties per 100,000 people in 2017. He highlighted that there was a 71 percent slump since 2008 when it was 13.5 casualties per 100,000 people.

Commenting on the huge drop in spite of several challenges they faced, the General recounted that they combined all their efforts to lessen the number of casualties on the roads. He went on to conclude that all traffic campaigns are now unified across the traffic departments in the country.

Meanwhile, according to Brigadier Hamad Ajlan Al Amimi, Director General of the Federal Criminal Police at the Ministry of Interior, the crime rate had also dropped in the UAE with the country landing on the lowest spot of the list in connection with murders and kidnapping.

Brig Al Amimi stressed that the indicator for grave crime was 49.5 percent in 2018 compared to 67.69 in 2017. He also noted that the UAE came first in the lowest rate of crimes in relation to murders with 0.7 per cent, kidnapping with 0.8 per cent, and rape with 1.2 per cent.

Smart services key to response times cut

In accordance with Lt. Gen Dahi Khalfan, cutting-edge solutions to report crime has paved the way to cut response times.

He noted that they introduced an app, which enables people to use their smartphone to make complaints or report crimes. Lt. Gen Khalfan also revealed that they recorded over 4,000 cases by individuals through mobile phones, and all police station services are now on mobile phones in the country.