Dubai: As part of Dubai Police’s campaign ‘Begging is a Wrong concept of Compassion,’ the Al Raffa Police Station in Bur Dubai has arrested 24 violators, including beggars and street vendors.
Brigadier Ahmed Thani bin Ghalita, Director of Al Raffa Police Station, said that the station joins the campaign’s efforts every year to combat begging in the emirate by assigning working teams to operate according to an integrated security plan, in cooperation with the department responsible for countering infiltrators and other partners to intensify patrols in places expected to be frequented by beggars.
Strict legal procedures
Brig. Bin Ghalita explained the campaign succeeded in reducing the number of beggars annually, thanks to the strict procedures taken against violators and the efforts of the General Department of Criminal Investigation to eliminate the phenomenon of begging from the society.
‘Begging poses a serious threat’
“There are official and charitable entities and authorities that are ready to help the needy, which we, at Dubai Police urged whoever in need of financial aids to turn to,” he added.
“Begging poses a serious threat to the safety and security of our society. We take the matter seriously as it ruins the reputation of the emirate and also affects the security because it increases cases of thefts and pocket picking,” the director of Al Raffa Police Station explained.
“There are people who attempt to justify their illegal behaviour with their financial desperation. However, according to Federal Law No 9 of 2018 on anti-begging, anyone caught begging in the UAE is liable to be fined Dh5,000 and imprisoned for a maximum of three months. Those operating professional gangs of beggars or recruiting people from outside the country to work as beggars face a jail term of not less than six months and a minimum fine of Dh100,000.” Brig. Bin Ghalita said.
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Dubai Police also asked the public to report beggars to the toll-free number 901 or through the Police Eye service via Dubai Police App, and to report cyberbeggars and suspicious online activities on www.ecrime.ae
