This was a decline compared to the previous year and was a result of ramped-up efforts to fight crime, they said.

The briefing, held under the slogan ‘The role of media in enhancing sustainable development’, was attended by Major-General Saif Al Ziri Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police; Brigadier Dr Ahmed Saeed Al Naour, Director-General of Central Operations, Sharjah Police; Brigadier General Ahmad Haji Al Serkal, Director General of Police Operations at Sharjah Police General Headquarters, and Brigadier General Ibrahim Al Ajel, Deputy Director General of Police Operations in Sharjah Police.

Colonel Nasser Bin Afsan, director of electronic services department at Sharjah Police, said the security control system project to install surveillance cameras around Sharjah is now 85 per cent complete. They have been installed in prime locations, on public roads, public establishments and vital places.

Col. Bin Afsan said the project, which began with 500 cameras in December 2017, had come a long way with 21,540 cameras being added to the security project in the last six months alone.

Meanwhile, the General Department of Criminal Investigation achieved 100 per cent success in arresting culprits involved in serious crimes. Perpetrators who had tried to flee the country were also arrested.

Major General Al Shamsi said the police have drawn up a plan for early crime prevention, including an intense awareness campaign to spread the culture of respecting law. Police patrols have also been intensified on roads and in crime-prone areas to ensure the safety of residents, in addition to introducing bicycle and marine patrols.

Employment of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), drones and introduction of the E-Patrols Programme had helped monitor negative behaviours on social media and cybercrimes, as well as raise public awareness about them.

Lieutenant Yaqoub Al Mansouri from the Strategy and Performance Development Department pointed to a significant decrease in the percentage of road accidents per 10,000 vehicles at 22 per cent.

He said the response time to emergencies reached 4.58 minutes compared to 2021, and the operation room had dealt with 1,802,933 calls on the number 999 designated for emergency cases, besides 213, 883 calls on 901 designated for non-emergency cases.

Drug control

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed bin Rabia, Deputy Director of the Anti-Drug Enforcement Administration, referred to the achievements made by the department in maintaining a society free of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and raising awareness of their dangers, as he pointed to an increase in seizures by 7.1 per cent in 2022.

“The department spares no effort in raising awareness about the dangers of narcotics, especially among the youth as they are the most vulnerable,” he said.

Meanwhile, Major Ahmed Al Muhairi from the Criminal and Investigation Department spoke about the “Saher” initiative, reviewing its comprehensive preventive goals.

Major Abdullah Al Mazrouei from the Criminal and Investigation Department gave an explanation about the “Sadad” initiative, which aims to settle financial disputes and ensure the restorationof rights to their owners to ensure social cohesion among members of society. The initiative recovered helped Dh447,522,86 during 2022.

The meeting also discussed pioneering projects of the Criminal Laboratory at Sharjah Police, notably the project which facilitates the transfer of corpses to the Criminal Laboratory Department at the request of relatives.First Lieutenant Salem Hassan Al Ali from Wasit Police Station also reviewed the proactive initiative “Condolences”, which completed 1,732 services and the Smart Corner initiative,the Service Centres Rehabilitation Project and the remote Investigation Initiative.