Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi witnesses 40% decrease in crime rates due to Covid-19 crisis

Abu Dhabi - The significant drop in the number of crimes and accidents was a result of the huge efforts by government bodies to safeguard public safety.

There has been a 40 per cent drop in crimes in Abu Dhabi since March this year because of the precautionary measures put in place to combat the Covid-19 crisis, the latest figures revealed.
Counselor Hassan Mohamed Al Hammadi, director of the public prosecution department in Abu Dhabi, said: "Since the implementation of the sterilisation programme and the #StayHome precautionary measures from March 8 until April 13 to contain coronavirus, 9,510 cases of crimes and offences were recorded across Abu Dhabi emirate as compared to 15,186 cases registered during the same period in 2019."
Al Hammadi was speaking during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
The official said the highest decline in offences - 55 per cent - was registered in traffic cases as the number of drivers prosecuted fell to 166 this year from 365 during the same period last year. Traffic accidents and deaths resulting from crashes also decreased by 50 per cent this year as compared to last year.
"The significant drop in the number of crimes and accidents was a result of the huge efforts by government bodies to safeguard public safety by ensuring that people stayed at home and there was no movement during the night to allow the disinfection process," said Al Hammadi.
Prosecutors also registered 2,779 cases of bounced cheques (or those without insufficient balance) this year as compared to 3,212 recorded last year during the same period, a decrease of 13 per cent.
There were 526 cases of offences regarding violation of the residence law recorded this year while 815 such violations were registered over the same period in 2019, a drop of 35 per cent.
The public prosecution department highlighted that the government decision to extend the validity of residence visas and Emirates IDs for residents, as well as visit and tourist visas until December 2020 because of the Covid-19 crisis has contributed to decline in the residence law violations.
Al Hammadi said: "The economic stimulus packages announced by the Executive Council of the emirate of Abu Dhabi that aimed at supporting businesses and other economic activities, exempting government charges and other costs on facilities for business in the emirate and giving grants to individuals and small and medium-sized companies, helped in reducing bounced cheque crimes."
According to figures released by the public prosecution, body assault crimes decreased by 18 per cent from 402 cases last year to 313 this year during the same period, while cases of theft declined to 201 this year from 362 last year, a decrease of 44 per cent.
Cases of of drug abuse also plummeted by 36 per cent from 250 last year to 158 this year.
On the other hand, fraud cases increased to 288 this year as compared to 254 in same period during 2019, an increase of 13 per cent.
Handling 100% cases remotely
Al Hammad said that through the use of new technologies, the Abu Dhabi public prosecution has been able to execute 100 per cent of all its services electronically since the implementation of the work-from-home system.
The services include receiving complaints, filing cases, investigations and interrogations of suspects before referring them to courts and all other activities being handled by prosecutors.
"Since March till now, all employees of the public prosecution have been working remotely from their homes as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and to ensure continuity of business as we serve the general public," said the official, adding that the the prosecution teams have been able to handle all cases remotely without getting into contact with complainants, suspects or their fellow workers.
The number of cases received by public prosecutions during the first quarter of 2020 were 29,965 while 9,860 cases were handled remotely since the beginning of March. A total of 1,112 cases have been investigated remotely while the public prosecution has issued decisions in 1,651.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com 

• Abu Dhabi