The main purpose of the paper is to reveal the malpractices as well as routine tasks of police officers

working in the capacity of a traffic police officer. To conduct this observational research I have requested

the head of the department to allow me to ride-along with a traffic police officer. I was granted sanction

by the head of the department and the observational ride-along has lasted for five consecutive hours on

the 1st of February 2020. The name of the police officer is Harry Anntoney and he has been working as a

full-service officer for 12 years. His key duties include Patrolling in his designated area, which keeps on

switching every week. He is currently on duty near the traffic signal of Burj Khalifa. Along with him,

there are four more traffic police officer who assists him.

On the 1st of February 2020, I was going along with the police officer Mr. Harry on his bike. He fined

another biker who was found over speeding and the amount of the fine was 1000 Dirham. The rider was

not even carrying a driving license due to which was fined with another 1000 Dirham. In total the biker

had to pay 2000 dirham on spot otherwise he would have been imprisoned. Over speeding is not a good

practice and thousands of people die every hour in the entire world because of the negligence of a couple

of people who are found over speeding on the streets. Over speeding at the cost of the lives of thousands

are people cannot be justified by any law. The nominal price paid by the people cannot relieve the

grievances of the people who have lost their loved ones to road accidents. Then a saw a man was

purposefully blocking the main road by his car horizontally in the middle of the street for almost four

minutes.

Police officer Mr. Harry and others were warning the driver to come out of the car, keep his hands up and

the driver was arrested and taken to the police station. He was imprisoned for 5 days until one of his

friends had paid for his bail. On spot, he had to pay 2500 Dirham as fine. Then after a few minutes, the

police officer started patrolling in the nearby areas and a car which was wrongly parked was relocated

with the help of a giant crane and the owner of the car was fined 500 Dirham on spot. A couple was

caught making on in the car and they were also fined and warned by the officer because they were found

violating the traffic rules. I saw before fining each individual the officer took thumb impression and the
ones whom they doubt to be drunk also give a sample of the blood the ensure that they can be accused in

the case of ‘drink and drive’. I cases of drink and drive and hit and run the victim is imprisoned for more

than seven years if he is responsible for killing a pedestrian. Moreover, the laws are very strict and no one

can escape from being imprisoned after committing a sin or violating traffic rules. The police officer also

had a GPS device to track the stolen vehicle.

I have also seen robot police officers in the police station who take care of the prisoners and some of them

were found filing FIR as well. Mr. Harry told me that the government is planning to replace 30% of the

human police force with robotic forces to reduce the cost by the year 2030. I saw an ambulance on my

ride-along and the police officer made way for the ambulance on the road which showed that police

officers are also kind-hearted. A saw the officer had tears in his eyes while looking inside the ambulance.

He could hardly have a glimpse of the patient inside the ambulance. This act of kindness has melted my

heart and my eyes were also filled with tears as this scene has reminded me of my father who could not

reach the hospital when he had his first heart attack. He died in the ambulance and was not able to receive

aid. I did not ask the officer what made him cry. He might have recalled any event similar to mine. We

also saw an accident because of the negligence of the driver and the car was fully destroyed. A girl

wearing a pink fork was five tears old died on the spot. Her mom was in serious condition and her dad

was not able to stand and he was badly bleeding. A saw a family was ruined because of the driver who

was drunk on a high dose of alcohol. I felt bad for the survivors. The couple had lost their only child. The

main reason for the severity of the accident was not wearing seat belts. The scene was very painful and

could not sleep for days after seeing that. I wondered why anybody would like to work as a police officer

who encounters such scenes daily. I asked the officer about how he ended up in this profession and what

he felt about his job. The officer said that his father was an Army officer and he had also applied for that

position but was rejected. Soon after his rejection from the Army he had applied in the General

Department of Criminal investigation. There he worked as an assistant officer for 3 years then he was

promoted as a senior traffic police officer. Now his job is to find stolen vehicles by using his GPS device
and do patrol to see stop people from violating traffic laws. His team also had a dog to check the cars for

drugs.

He was very satisfied with his job as he always wanted to give back to society just like his father. He was

also sad because his father was not with him and had left the world four years back. I did not ask the

reason for his death as the officer was already in tears and I started to calm him. He was very satisfied to

serve in the capacity of a senior traffic police officer. Has was happy to give back to society and thought

that every individual should serve in one way or the other to this world a better place to live in. I think his

passion to serve humanity is adopted and inherited from his father. Mr. Harry was very passionate about

serving society. After meeting him my views have also changed. Doing little efforts can help others to

live peacefully in the world. The love and passion which I have encountered in Mr. Harry towards his

people and his society have changed my view of looking at society. All of us can live a happy life just by

doing simple deeds. This interdependence will save thousands of lives. The aim of the police is not to fine

motorists but to ensure the safety of the motorists and pedestrians. Police will not show any legacy

towards the ones violating the traffic principles as such people are endangering their lives as well as of

others. According to the recent laws of UAE even children are not allowed to sit on the lap of the driver

as it also a reason for the increasing number of road accidents.

This rule will help in reducing the number of accidents. In the years 2015 5.99 deaths were recorded for

every 100000 accidents. The government is aiming to reduce it to three deaths for every 100000 people

who encounter a road accident (Nalramahi, 2017)For reducing the number of deaths. If all of the start

paying back to the society the world will become a peaceful place where everyone will like to live in. my

journey with Mr. Harry will remain memorable until I die. I have come across many people. I have seen a

five-year-old dying in front of my eyes, who was the only child of her parents. Her parents were severely

ill and traumatized. Little negligence of the drivers can ruin families. I would just give this public service

message to use seat belts to secure your life and to refrain your family from the pain, agony and suffering

from losing you and their loved ones. Violating traffic laws is of no excuse. Risking the lives of others
just to soothe your nerves by riding fast is not acceptable. Lives are precious and priceless. Make sure the

next time you drive your car of bike use seat belts to secure yourself. These parental laws help us in

saving ourselves from the evil within us.

Reference

Nalramahi. (2017). Police patrols to enforce new UAE rules of the road on Saturday - The National.
Retrieved February 13, 2020, from https://www.thenational.ae/uae/police-patrols-to-enforce-
new-uae-rules-of-road-on-saturday-1.93024