Secret Dubai diary Intrigue and adventure in the United Arab Emirates





iPhone RPGs

Dubai Info

Best role-playing games
Spiderweb Software
for Mac & PC





06 September, 2005

Skating SWAT squad

[Insert appallingly bad pun on the "wheels of justice", since the Khaleej Times inexplicably failed to] as Dubai police have formed a rollerskating security team to chase down criminals:

The "Naif Panthers," as they would be called will be on the prowl in various areas, particularly the commercial zones, under the jurisdiction of the police station.

Clad in T-shirts with the Dubai Police logo emblazoned across, these cops will help monitor the crime situation in the area and reach crime sites which are not accessible to police patrol cars like narrow alleys and paths, Major Khalid Khalfan Al Mansouri, Acting Director of Naif Police Station, said, adding that they would carry their identity cards but would otherwise be dressed in casuals.


Well, at least they won't be tripping over their dishdashes.

Major Al Mansouri said these cops would also have the ability to prevent any surprise elements that criminals may have up their sleeves on spotting a police patrol car.

T-shirt with police logo emblazoned:surprise element. Hardly.

Labels:

30 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

hmm reminds me of the tv series pacific blue, where cops are in mountains bikes patrolling the beach..i wouldnt mind the rollerblade cops in uniform or with a big police sign all over them. you'll feel more secured having them on the street than guys in kandura who pose as CIDs. the mere presence of guys in uniform will make criminal think twice.

but then again why rollerblades? one can easily outrun a guy in rollerblades. why not train them to run faster, issue them with those light, running shoes-like boots. there nothing more rewarding than chasing a bad guy, making him kiss the pavement and cuff the bastard.

06 September, 2005 11:04  
Blogger John B. Chilton said...

How are they on stairs?

06 September, 2005 13:31  
Blogger Magnus Nystedt said...

I'm not sure how effective it's going to be, but I guess it's good they are at least trying new things. I thought it was a rather amusing article and I even used it with my students for typing practice.

06 September, 2005 14:25  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

well it's an idea...i would have thought getting some of those cops on their feet would be better. Foot patrols in two-person teams are effective...works in the UK on a Friday night. Plus the fact that the cops here carry guns (poor bobbies had to make do without them until recently) adds to the deterrent effect. Better to get them into an athletics programme where they can improve their pursuit speed.

06 September, 2005 14:39  
Blogger black feline said...

i think better engage sharp shooters...the local olympian who made a big fuss of his small role in a bollywood flick recently..should be keen to check out this role....esp shooting life target!Gee.........i love that

06 September, 2005 14:43  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1desi, a little more manners? Sometimes the comments here go from silly to absurd. You think the police here are not mannered enough for you?! holy!

I don't know where you're from, but I have been to a few countries and let me tell you something.. dubai police are among the most mannered and nicest police officers I have ever come across.

06 September, 2005 16:13  
Blogger black feline said...

mohamed,

really? the other side of the coin is.. really 80% of the foreigners here are law abiding people..so there's much for them to smile and frankly little else to do...maybe a couple of petty thieves...i suggest sending dubai well mannered police force to some real cowboy land and see how long that smile will last...

06 September, 2005 17:05  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

black feline, you are so way off. Yes, sure, the state troopers in Texas may be faced with maniacs shooting at them as they approach their cars to check their license and registration.. and that might make them edgy, rude and flat out horrible people to come in contact with...

But then again, who asked _why_ they are well mannered. They just are. Whether it's because 80% of the people are law abiding or not (I think that goes for most places in the world) is besides the question. The point is, they _are_ nice and courteous to people. Why they are how they are is not the point.

You don't go up to someone who smells good and say, you know what.. you don't smell so good.. cause if I made you do construction work for 4 days straight without showering.. you will probably stink.

That's just a ridiculous argument..

06 September, 2005 18:29  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with Mohd elzubeir on "Dubai Police" . The best police force i've ever come across. They are well dressed, well behaved , healthy , composed , empathetic and very strong.

Guys dont blame things for the sake of blaming. Dubai police is the best!!!

06 September, 2005 19:14  
Blogger black feline said...

Mohamed,

I just dont buy your crap...and if that's the case your sissy from the police academy 8 will definitely buckle under stress...they have not gone thru the baptism of fire...they dont have to be rude..i suspect they are from the tourism board..period.we need real men to protect us...

07 September, 2005 08:16  
Blogger Parv said...

I'll admit...the policemen that serve me with traffic violations (everytime I ram my car into a Sunnyman pulling 30km/hr on the SZR), are actually quite polite and friendly. I guess being a woman helps.

At a police station - apart from sending you to about 12 different counters, and having to wait hours to merely get a document stamped -it's not all that bad. I guess having a "Ladies Section" helps.

Ok, so I have contributed nothing to this discussion except that when you're dealing with the local 5-0, it's great to be a woman.

07 September, 2005 08:52  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tourism fiasco...maybe they can give roller blading lessons to the public...even that might be impossible for them.

07 September, 2005 15:20  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1desi, the cops in the states are just as undereducated as it gets. Trust me.. those who can't make it through high school are the ones who become cops (with the few exceptions of those who have a passion to being in the law enforcement business)..

Ever heard of the GED? There you go..

And the reason I said I don't know where you're from is not to judge -- I am simply saying, not sure what kind of comparison you're making, based on your own background.

Should admit though, I have no idea how a 'brown' person (as you put it) is dealt with.. but I am guessing you have had your own bitter experiences.

But please, spare me the whole 'we paid for x and y..'.. who cares? You didn't pay for it out of your own kindness and genorosity. It's a two way street.

07 September, 2005 17:18  
Blogger Emirati said...

In other news Desi1 and zenmaster are competing for "comments section retard" award in my blog.

07 September, 2005 21:51  
Blogger Emirati said...

Hurricaine do you think that cops in the UAE dont get educated and are not experienced ? The minuimum has always been a high school secondary certificate and a 1 year training course done in line with work for every officer.

People here should try and goto Qatar or Saudi or Oman, or Iran and see how nice police are over there. Why something is so isnt as relevant as it is JUST SO and terrorists wont start running around with SVDs anytime soon so expect the police to continue being polite.

07 September, 2005 21:54  
Blogger secretdubai said...

What are wakeeks and naqeebs? Is that a rank, like Sergeant?

08 September, 2005 10:07  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

From what I have experiencedthat many (not all) abuse thier authority as Police Officers and harrass people after a minor accident for example. I wont be surprised if these same oficers are come in the line of fire from Real Terrorists they will run for their lives

08 September, 2005 11:07  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The best police in the world is in Germany! the female ones.

I asked for help from A german female officer on the platform on my trip to Zoologisher Garten via Frankfurt haptbanouf.... she help me so well. and she was boarding the same train as I was! hehehehe

so we sat together in the ICE train and later that evening I met her in her house! so later what happened? (dont u boys love to know!!!!)

I have to start my own blog thingy!

08 September, 2005 14:51  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i have to say that dubai police are fairly polite as compared to the goons in police uniform in saudi arabia. But then dubai does not compare itself to that backwater of nomadic extremism. It tries to style itself as a modern city state with an easy going east-west blend.

The police here do need to be a little better trained in the following areas:

1 - spoken english; much as it would be great that we all speak arabic, english is the lingua franca for everyone here

2 - 'cracking down' on a more even-handed basis. There have been many, many days when i've been on the szr, or jumeira or wasel road and the locals in plush vehicles have driven by at f-1 speeds, and there have been squad cars just limping along, not chasing them. At the same time, i'e seen them spot a car load of asians (indians, pakistanis and philipinos) and immmediately stopped them for random checks.

3 - asian friends of mine have also spoken of the phenomenon mentioned in the above posts i.e. extremely racist behaviour by policemen from non-emirati backgrounds. Whilst being policemen, these chaps should remember they are expatriates just like us. If the emiratis are polite, these men have no right to behave otherwise.

08 September, 2005 16:33  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

so we sat together in the ICE train and later that evening I met her in her house! so later what happened? (dont u boys love to know!!!!)

Did you wake up afterwards belushi?

08 September, 2005 17:06  
Blogger secretdubai said...

the locals in plush vehicles have driven by at f-1 speeds, and there have been squad cars just limping along, not chasing them

Actually I was told that they are under instructions not to chase, because of the far greater risk of accidents that that could cause.

I also wouldn't be surprised if they don't want to encourage a culture of "car chasing" to be cool - eg young local men deliberately getting a cop car after them, knowing they face a fine and a ticking off at best, so they can boast to their friends about how they managed to outrun them. This is my speculation, but I feel it is not unlikely.

08 September, 2005 18:11  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Did you wake up afterwards belushi?"


Mr. Anonymous, You think it was a dream? Well I dont blame you as for me it was a dream come true!

Her english was fairly good, Ich liebe dich baby!

She also visited me in Dubai!!! Hows that?

08 September, 2005 18:28  
Blogger black feline said...

balushit,

go get a life...

08 September, 2005 18:44  
Blogger secretdubai said...

Please calm down the insults everyone, or I'll have to start deleting comments etc, which I really hate to do because I hate censorship.

08 September, 2005 19:11  
Blogger Emirati said...

Shurti- Officer
Shurti Awal- Officer 1st Class
Raqeeb- Seargeant
Naqib- Staff Seargant
Mulazim- Leiutenant
Naqeeb- Captain

etc.

09 September, 2005 00:36  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it's a great idea..no way one can outrun a good roller blader...fail to see what u so smug about anyway...at least it's a positive effort to curb crime. quit the whinning ....

;-)

09 September, 2005 01:05  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Idesi -

man u got some majot issues boy ! what's with all your "brown skin" hangups - looks like u suffer from some pretty self destructive inferiority complex or sumthin'

...btw i guess i wud classify myself as one of ur "brown skins" tho i did not grow up in the sub-cont.

09 September, 2005 01:09  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

pussy cat and Katrina, wait till I visit uk! i am gonna shag even the waitresses.


then we will talk about the best waitresses in the world.

09 September, 2005 11:38  
Blogger black feline said...

ok..for the sake of katrina, i will calm down..but balushit..go f**k spider...LOL

09 September, 2005 17:40  
Blogger moryarti said...

SD: Ranks may vary from one arab country to another .. but in general they are the following
(Emarati got most of them right ;) )

Shurti- Officer
Shurti Awal- Officer 1st Class
Raqeeb- Sergeant
Naqib(no) Areef (yes)- Staff Sergeant
Mulazim- Lieutenant
Naqeeb- Captain
Ra'ed- Major
Aqeed - Colonel
Fareeq - General

14 September, 2005 09:59  

Post a Comment

<< Home



next issue is no. 12




Google Secret Dubai
iopBlogs.com, The World's Blog Aggregator
 Blog Top Sites

Powered by Blogger




StatCounter stats