In the UAE, residents and visitors are not only awed by the policing efficiency, but also by the highend police vehicles. The fleet includes headline-making cars such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Aston Martin, BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Audi. These patrol cars are amazing on wide roads when chasing criminals or reaching a victim quickly. But through dense traffic or in an area with narrow alleyways, the UAE police have a very different, very agile solution: bicycles.
When we see someone cycling down the road, we think of a fitness enthusiast. But in the UAE, depending on the colour of the bicycle and the cyclist’s clothes, this could be a patrolling policeman. Abu Dhabi Police had introduced the bike patrols in October 2016, Sharjah got them in November 2016, and Dubai followed in 2018.
Abu Dhabi Police told 999 that bike patrols have dealt with more than 10,000 different security cases since 2016. And in mid-September this year, just 18 months after they were launched, Dubai Police bike patrols had arrested 83 wanted criminals. Thanks to their manoeuvrability and compact size, the bikes can reach where cars can’t, and they can cut off the escape routes for criminals.
These bike patrols are evidence of the UAE police forces’ ability to revise and expand their law enforcement strategy, implement new methods, enhance police training, as well as try mobility options that would complement the traditional patrol cars.
The police bicycles and patrolling cyclists have some distinguishing features: the bikes are equipped with emergency lights; they carry communication devices that connect them to the central operations room; the patrolmen wear special police uniforms. The Abu Dhabi Police bike patrols go out in pairs and their officers are fluent in at least two languages. Explaining their necessity in order to cut emergency response time, Abu Dhabi Police said, “Police patrol bicycles will be capable of reaching traffic accident and crime scenes promptly.”
“These bike patrols can access all traffic or criminal scenes through the use of roads and side lanes until the arrival of security and traffic patrols vehicles. It enables police to assess and deal with the situation in advance,” the Abu Dhabi Police further explained in a statement to 999.
“Security bicycle patrols are considered an added value to improve the field performance of the police institutions, their ability to manoeuvre and reach all places, and maintain public order during events,” Abu Dhabi Police added.
IT FEELS SAFER
UAE residents love the idea of bike patrols, since they make the police presence much more visible and act as a crime deterrent. Nurah Khan, an Indian national who has lived and worked in Abu Dhabi for 12 years now, said, “Their visibility makes us confident that no road is too narrow for the police to catch criminals. And that makes residents feel safe even when walking at night.”
Mildred Baron, a Filipino expat who lives in Deira, Dubai, lauds the addition of bicycle patrols to the UAE police fleets. “I don’t think people should see bicycle patrol as a downgrade from the already ‘fast and furious’ UAE patrol fleet,” she said. “It goes to show that the UAE police would continue to employ and update their policing measures by all means to serve the public better.”
Residential neighbourhoods, commercial centres, green spaces, beaches, parks, subways, and tourist areas are the patrol posts for Abu Dhabi police bike patrollers.
The bicycle patrols of Dubai Police managed to cover places frequented by locals and tourists e.g. La Mer, City Walk, Deira Souk, Bur Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Residence area, Al Muraqqabat, and Al Rigga.
HIGH EFFICIENCY
Praising these bike patrols, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commanderin- Chief of Dubai Police, said, “The police bicycle patrollers have demonstrated high efficiency and performance, thanks to their high fitness levels and professional training.” He added that increased police visibility through the bicycle patrols was aligned with the emirate’s aim for community happiness, safe city, and innovation in institutional capacity.
“Dubai has become a global tourist destination attracting millions of visitors annually, and we’re keen to achieve pioneering positions in all fields,” added Al Marri.
The 83 arrests made by Dubai Police bike patrollers in just 18 months means at least four wanted criminals a month on an average, pointed out Major General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Criminal Investigation Affairs, Dubai Police.
He said that bike patrols could very easily move from one spot to another, and their visibility made it easier for people to directly report to them the details of any incidents. The patrols have created a fear amongst criminals that they’d get caught red-handed; inversely, residents feel much less afraid of any possible crime. Al Mansouri said, “Seeing policemen in the streets also makes our residents and our tourists feel they’re safe and that help is under way immediately, if needed.”
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Patrol bike policeman Ahmad Al Saadi recalled an incident when he was assigned to the Al Murraqqabat area. Al Saadi said that he and his teammate saw two Asians carrying backpacks. But what really caught their attention was that the two Asians were “walking suspiciously” around shops. “We stopped them and inspected their backpacks, and we found robbery tools and bolt cutters,” said Al Saadi. “Investigations showed that they were planning to rob one of the neighbourhood shops.”
Bike patrollers also monitor alleys frequented by counterfeit goods vendors. Al Saadi said that vendors usually hid in the inner alleys or narrow streets in order to peddle the fake handbags, watches, and electronic goods to tourists. Thus, he added, police bikers should not only have the right equipment, but also the intuition to read the body language of offenders and fugitives.
HELP COMES FAST
Corporal Rashid Salim from Naif Police Station served in patrol cars before he joined the Dubai Police bicycle patrols.
One particular unique case for Salim was finding a lost four-year-old boy. He and his teammates were patrolling the downtown area in Naif when a Saudi national stopped them and sought their help. “We gathered some details and the description of the boy from the father, and we immediately initiated a search operation,” said Salim. “Having the advantage of being able to manoeuvre and move swiftly across the area, we located the child in just 30 minutes and handed him over to his father, who was extremely overwhelmed by our timely response.”
Tips also come to bicycle patrols from residents who know of foreigners who they think have overstayed their visa or are working without a proper visa.
IT’S A SPECIAL SQUAD
Police cyclists are required to maintain a high degree of physical fitness to be able to withstand the rigours of cycling of more than 30km per day and responding to emergencies quickly. This entails refresher courses every three months and cycling for long distances of at least 20km.
They should also undergo courses in self-defence, crowd control, public order, first-aid, firefighting, using taser guns, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, shooting while moving on the bicycles, and descending down stairs.
Aside from smart communication devices attached to the bikes and helmets, police cyclists were also issued with the German-made taser gun, Taser X2, said Corporal Jassim Al Razi from Bur Dubai Police Station.
They’re also given a pair of smart gloves with turning indicators to warn other road users when they change lanes or take a sharp turn. The smart equipment includes a waterproof, night-vision, smart camera that live broadcasts the situation to the operation control centre.
Special parking in certain locations is also provided for security bicycle patrols in Abu Dhabi. This enables them to conduct regular patrols which would then help the police force to be physically visible to their community, respond immediately to emergency situation as well as prevent crimes from happening.
Ready for all terrains
Running out of ideas to go after criminals? Certainly not for Abu Dhabi and Sharjah police forces.
Seven months ago, Abu Dhabi Police added a new light vehicle smart patrol to chase wanted criminals who brazenly use the desert or farms as escape routes. Meet the specialised quad bike, an all-terrain vehicle run by a motor with four low-pressure tyres designed for off-road or a wider variety of terrains, including desert or farms.
Abu Dhabi Police said that the quad bike is equipped with a digital smart camera integrated with an intuitive chip. This new patrol vehicle was one of the innovations as part of the UAE Innovation Month in February 2019.
Meanwhile, Sharjah Police have added scooters to its force of patrol vehicles to curb crime. And just like the bike patrols, scooter patrols brought down the emergency response time, said Major General Saif Ziri Al Shamsi, Commander-in- Chief of Sharjah Police. He said that the patrols could be used during community events, especially in tourist areas.
The scooter patrols are battery-operated and, like bike patrols, the riders are given helmets with state-of-the-art communication devices, directly linking them to the operation centre, and a Go-Pro camera to shoot videos of their patrol.
The scooter is also provided with a first-aid kit.
Running out of ideas to go after criminals? Certainly not for Abu Dhabi and Sharjah police forces.
Seven months ago, Abu Dhabi Police added a new light vehicle smart patrol to chase wanted criminals who brazenly use the desert or farms as escape routes. Meet the specialised quad bike, an all-terrain vehicle run by a motor with four low-pressure tyres designed for off-road or a wider variety of terrains, including desert or farms.
Abu Dhabi Police said that the quad bike is equipped with a digital smart camera integrated with an intuitive chip. This new patrol vehicle was one of the innovations as part of the UAE Innovation Month in February 2019.
Meanwhile, Sharjah Police have added scooters to its force of patrol vehicles to curb crime. And just like the bike patrols, scooter patrols brought down the emergency response time, said Major General Saif Ziri Al Shamsi, Commander-in- Chief of Sharjah Police. He said that the patrols could be used during community events, especially in tourist areas.
The scooter patrols are battery-operated and, like bike patrols, the riders are given helmets with state-of-the-art communication devices, directly linking them to the operation centre, and a Go-Pro camera to shoot videos of their patrol.
The scooter is also provided with a first-aid kit.
