A new community policing directorate has been set up within the Ministry of Interior, in an apparent bid to boost crime prevention capabilities and to foster good relations between police and the public.
This is the first time Qatar has had a central, dedicated department to community policing. Previously, this work was carried out by individual public security departments.
The Directorate of Community Police is one of two new departments created within the Ministry as part of a wider restructuring. The other newly-created division is the Directorate of Inspection and Oversight.
Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani announced the changes as an aspect of the ministry’s “modernization” program.
As part of the reshuffling, several other departments were merged under the nine previously existing directorates.
According to state news agency QNA, the General Directorate of Public Security will now include the police; immigration will come under the Directorate of Nationality, Ports and Expatriate Affairs; and the coast guard service will be included in the General Directorate of Coasts and Border Security.
Civil Defense and the Traffic Department have been renamed as separate General Directorates, while legal affairs, criminal investigation, information systems and supply and equipment will also become individual general directorates.
Community policing plays an intrinsic role in developing relations between police and sectors of the community, which helps in crime prevention and detection.
It also helps to improve transparency and accountability in government, which is part of Qatar’s National Vision 2030.
More people, more crime
Qatar’s rapidly growing population, which is forecast to continue rising in the coming years as planned infrastructure projects are built ahead of the 2022 World Cup, is already having an effect on society.
While the Gulf country maintains one of the lowest crime rates in the world, the influx of people to the country has increased incidences of crime.
According to government figures, the crime rate jumped six-fold in recent years, from 320 crimes per 100,000 people in 2001 to 2,355 crimes in 2010.
The 2011 Sustainable Development Indicators report from the Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics attributed that rise to the growing expat population:
“It is difficult to explain the increase in crime rate in Qatar as domestic reasons discharged by the Qatari society, which until recently, enjoying a high level of social security and rareness of crimes.
The real and more rational explanation for the increase of crime rates in Qatar is attributed the great openness witnessed by the State, which was accompanied by arrival of numerous number of people from all over the world, in addition to the development occurred to the techniques followed by criminals, which are extrinsic crimes and deeds, that were not common or known previously by the Qatari society.”
To keep residents from becoming victims of crimes here, the police has increasingly begun warning people to not be complacent. Earlier this year for example, police arrested two men following a spate of reports about valuables being stolen from cars around Doha.
Officials at the time cautioned residents not to leave valuables in open view in their cars.
Incidences of robbery have also increased recently, with police arresting two gangs on burglary charges following a series of home break-ins.
Community relations
A significant element of community policing is building relations between sectors of society and improving communication channels.
MOI has been working to do this recently by becoming more active on Twitter, and encouraging residents to report bad drivers through the Metrash 2 mobile app (which is to be used by passengers and pedestrians).
According to the MOI’s website, the community police would partner with social organizations in Qatar to spread awareness on crime prevention and public safety initiatives. Qatar’s community police also aim to better respond to the needs of residents.
Community police also generally work on events such as public parades, national days and other festivals and celebrations, acting as an approachable public face of authorities.
Thoughts?
All good and well but really is 1990 police methodology which we have developed further and moved on from. What the MOI might find is that by engagement with the community that a certain demographic would really love to see the traffic police actually police the traffic. If they want to move into areas of measuring community satisfaction, reputation, and community perception of effectiveness this would be a pretty good point to start from.
“The real and more rational explanation for the increase of crime rates in Qatar is … arrival of numerous number of people from all over the world … crimes and deeds, that were not common or known previously by the Qatari society.”
That is the most roundabout method of saying “Damn foreigners’ fault!” that I’ve seen – not neglecting to give themselves a pat on the back in the process. A+
It’s true, arrival of foreigners is correlated to the increased crimes in Qatar. Reading your comments, you seem to have a problem with Qataris. Hater?
My guess would be that the reason there is an increase in the crime rates of Qatar is:
– More people feel comfortable reporting crimes to police
– More transparency about reporting crime statistics by the authorities
It’s possible that the increase in the *incidence* of crime has risen less than the increase in the *reporting* of crime.
Why wouldn’t they report crimes to the police before the arrival of many foreigners, any reason (not assumption)? Ask anyone who was here before 2004 how safe this place was.
Let’s imagine a woman gets raped, can you think of a reason why she wouldn’t report it?
Let’s imagine a laborer is hit by a Mercedes while crossing the road, can you think of a reason he would’t report it?
Let’s imagine a maid is beaten by her sponsor, can you think of a reason she wouldn’t report it?
Spot on!
armchair science
“Let’s imagine a woman gets raped, can you think of a reason why she wouldn’t report it?”
This is a global issue and not unique to Qatar.
“Let’s imagine a laborer is hit by a Mercedes while crossing the road, can you think of a reason he would’t report it?”
An Indian man once jumped in front of my friend’s car just to get compensation. He did report that case, it was a Porsche though. There is no reason for him not to report it.
“Let’s imagine a maid is beaten by her sponsor, can you think of a reason she wouldn’t report it?”
There is no reason not to report, she will be compensated and he will be sent to prison.
On the rape: Just because it is not unique to Qatar doesn’t mean that 1) we should ignore it or 2) you should excuse it.
On the hit laborer: yeah laborers vaulting themselves in front on cars is a real problem. Your one example proves it incontrovertibly.
On the abused maid: can you provide any examples of Qataris who have been sent to prison for abusing maids based solely on the maid’s complaint?
1) Doesn’t mean it exists too.
2) + 3) on one point you ignore the fact, on the other you base your statement on assumptions. Make up your mind, or is it already set on anything anti-Qatar ?
People tend to report crimes when they cannot handle the problem communally.
This explains lower reported crime rates in smaller and less ethnically diverse, mono-cultural communities–i.e. victims are less likely to know the criminal and, therefore, go to a the police to sort it out.
I couldn’t have said it better myself: Correlation =! Causation
Oh by the way, editing your comment does not erase all records of the original. Look what I just found in my inbox. Mods?
Don’t know why the above was posted as guest…
Can you deny that?
Doha News: and the user’s account is still active because????
Because making a new account is easier than signing in with the this one.
Doha News please step up, this is unacceptable.
Well done Guest!! Thank you for sharing that. Good to see who the true “Hater?” (her words) is…
No kidding! Problems like these don’t stem from an increase in people (foreigners or otherwise), they stem from an increase in poverty and low levels of education. Eliminate (or significantly decrease) poverty, and provide educational opportunities, and crime rates will undoubtedly drop!
I find it amusing how the most ignorant always are the ones with all the answers. Are you collecting stats on the breakdown of crimes in the country and who are committing them? Do the police send you and the zalama above a report every time a crime occurs?
In my area alone there was a significant number of burglaries, and those committing them were professional criminal gangs who come to Qatar on tourist visas, our neighbor had managed to apprehend one and the police had informed just how frequent this activity has become.
Stop presuming you have a great understanding of matters you know very little about.
You’ll have to excuse us ignorant ones, we’re not all blessed with your inside info and superior intellect
A burglary can be a very traumatizing experience for the victims, I doubt those who have experienced one would consider it a “blessing” to have received “inside info” at the cost of the sanctity of their homes being violated.
It does not require “superior intellect” to not speculate foolishly on things you know very little about, all it requires is a little common sense.
I wish we all had your common sense. I’ve been burgled in the past and as such am quite familiar with how it feels. In case I didn’t lay it on thick enough, I was trying to make fun of the arrogant and disrespectful way you address others and how you yourself assume that others know nothing.
It appears my sarcasm was lost on you as I was making fun of your attempt to “make fun”.
I too wish that you possess enough common sense to see how cheap attempts at humor and “know it all” posts directed at the Qatari authorities and made in the absence of any evidence is quite an arrogant thing to do and some would find the manner in which it was done to be quite disrespectful.
However I have become accustomed to people such as yourself applying different standards of “good manners” when it comes to posts concerning anything Qatar related, so it does not really surprise me that you would conveniently ignore those posts yet have issue with me responding in kind.
You’re just a step above me, I can’t keep up, whatever you say
I didn’t see any breakdown of crimes committed by nationality. As a matter of fact, the latest big news crime in Qatar was murder, perpetrated by two Qatari accomplices against an expatriate victim. Maybe that was the foreigners’ fault as well.
Crime statistics are not based on how newsworthy a criminal act is, and you don’t have to be a media expert to realize that homicide is the most newsworthy of all crimes, which is why when zalamas are involved in petty scams such as stealing from their employers, providing fraudulent documents for loans, etc., such crimes will not be reported as widely as the murder that you refer to, again a little common sense would help you realize that.
If next year for instance, two more violent murders are committed by Qataris, and let us say a professional gang of zalamas target all hypermarkets and grocery stores in Qatar and manage to successfully rob them of all their onions, the zalamas will be responsible for the increase in crime despite the fact that the Qataris have committed the more horrific and deplorable crimes, and the murders will grab more media attention than LuLu and Carrefour suffering major onion losses.
I surrender the floor to the power of your anecdotal evidence, and your racial slurs.
Zalama is racial slur now? Your true enemy has always maintained that zalamas lie and manipulate facts to gain sympathy from the international community, now I see where they are coming from…
If you were a zalama “man”, perhaps I would address you further. I’m afraid my tolerance for ignorance is fresh out for today.
My sincere apologies. You’re right, I shouldn’t presume I have a great understanding of matters such as this, even after having spent the majority of my adult life studying crime. How silly of my ignorant self!
A colour guide to all the various policing parties would be useful for residents and the ” increasing tourists”. Does this exist? The ones in red cars, what’s their scope? Black and white cars? And the other variations. The ones with solid blue uniforms that look like security guards, are they police officers or just do VIP traffic?
Good idea as I thought I was the only one confused but now I’m not so sure !!!
Red cars….Drink tea, twitter on blackberry and drive dangerously
Black and White cars…Drink tea, twitter on blackberry and drive dangerously
Solid blue uniforms…Drink tea, twitter on blackberry and drive dangerously
Lol, F up roundabouts too
So lets state the glaringly obvious thing here. lets get the kind of policing that we all actually want to see. proper traffic police. lets stop all these idiots on the road. teach people to drive safely and punish those who don’t.
that will be a lot more useful than a community officer sitting in a car in a random neighborhood drinking tea in his car.
I remember my driving test last yr. Obese teenage Qatari kid skips the line, drives the car into cones numerous times, parks the wrong way around, doesn’t even attempt road test and still gets his license.
wow another arm in the streets…..maybe someone will see those people zigzaggin’ while cars are driving….or they might finally see all those horrid parents have todlers in front of the wheel…..never seen one, and I mean ONE, stopped and fined…..
“According to the MOI’s website, the community police would partner with social organizations in Qatar”
I hope this does NOT include the ‘reflect your respect’ self-appointed fashion police.
I hope it does. People are lacking respect, maybe it has something to do with their upbringing environment.
So can attribute your lack of respect to your “upbringing environment”?
“People are lacking respect, maybe it has something to do with their upbringing environment.” My thoughts exactly. Perhaps self-awareness has not eluded you as much as I thought.
Next time I see a Landcruiser push his way up the hard shoulder to cut past all the other cars, I’ll remember not to blame the driver, but to blame his parents.
Here here!! If I want Fashion Police I will watch Joan Rivers on E! channel; dear MOI, please don’t let the already distracted police be distracted with this!!
Haha! I know it’s a little late, but that was funny 😀
Better late than never Anonymous!! I’m glad you found it funny 😀
Lol, there are more comments responding to the troll than the actual article. I wonder if this troll is even a Qatari.
Probably not…usually the ones born here that try their best to look “qatari” and buy the scrap LCs to try and promote that view of themselves.
Don’t feed the trolls, let them pop their pimples first and get laid. After that they can be taken seriously. ..
On-topic, oh nvm….
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