Dubai: Dubai Police’s non-emergency line (901) received more than 100,000 calls in the first eight months of the year, according to a police official.
The majority of the calls were general enquiries which the call centre was able to handle effectively and efficiently, said Captain Mohammad Hamad Saeed, director of the call centre, which belongs to a section of the command and control room of the Operations Department.
“The centre received a total of 102,900 calls in the first eight months of 2016. As many as 79,373 calls were general enquiries, 7,655 were for technical assistance like how to use Dubai Police’s smart apps and 15,872 were labour complaints.”
Captain Saeed said that the centre achieved its goal in reducing the pressure on the emergency number (999).
He added that the centre has responded to 70,631 chats in the same period, noting the success of the chat service being provided through the Dubai Police’s official website in answering the public’s enquiries. It has especially been useful for those who want to communicate with the police from outside the country, he said.
Dubai Police also responded to up to 15,158 requests, which were submitted through the smart app, he added.
“The 901 staff are specialised to deal with the calls they receive and they are able to answer the public’s enquiries in both English and Arabic. They are also trained to handle any complaints and suggestions being made, and also solve people’s issues. Suggestions are quickly forwarded to the relevant department at Dubai Police.”
The chat service, which was launched in 2015, he said, works round the clock and can be accessed on the main page of Dubai Police’s website — www.dubaipolice.gov.ae. The service appears in blue at the bottom of the page, where the user is asked to enter his/her name and email address, which then allows the user to chat with the relevant staff.
