Bahrain’s police have achieved an international milestone when the country was ranked fourth among 141 countries in the security indicator in the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 released by the World Economic Forum, the Interior Ministry said in a statement yesterday.
It said the sense of security is felt by citizens, residents and visitors. Bahrain was next only to Finland, Singapore and Iceland.
Bahrain advanced to the third position internationally for tackling organised crime and is fifth for its meritorious police service.
The report adopts the methodology of inclusion of latest statistics from international organisations and investigative studies. It adopts and develops the methodology in co-operation with senior experts and practitioners through an advisory process spanning three years to support countries around the world in setting relevant policies and practices.
With such international indications and successes Bahrain will remain secure because of the directives of His Majesty King Hamad and the support of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.
The accomplishment is also a result of the effort of sincere police personnel and the follow-up of Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.
The milestone coincides with preparations of the Interior Ministry to mark the 100th anniversary of Bahrain Police, which was officially formed in 1919.
The achievement is the result of efforts of the Royal Academy of Police in promoting human rights culture among personnel through a series of courses throughout the year.
Meanwhile, the Community Affairs Department of the Public Security has been working as a link between police directorates and authorities concerned to enhance services, such as the Dar Al Aman, a shelter for abused women, and Batelco Centre for victims of domestic violence.
Earlier, the US-based Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E. International) honoured the Interior Minister with the Personality of the Year Award 2018 for the success of the Maan “Together” programme against violence and addiction that meets all the standards of the organisation.
Last year’s statistics also indicates the dedication of Bahrain’s police to promote security as the main operations room dealt with more than 83,000 cases, while the hotline 999 received more than one million calls, including 30,000 related to community service.
Severe traffic accidents were down in 2018, with fatal accidents dropping by 25 per cent and traffic violations decreasing by 45pc. The Civil Defence dealt with 6,500 cases, and the anti-corruption hotline received 4,064 cases last year.
The General Directorate of Ports Security dealt with 481 cases; the Police Aviation registered 907,000 flight hours, 924 flights and 344 cases in 2018.
The General Directorate of Guard held 162 courses for 929 trainees and the Training Directorate held 690 courses inside and outside Bahrain for more than 8,000 participants.
The Coastguard dealt with 2,738 cases, including rescuing and assisting 1,229 individuals and 467 boats last year.
The Police Directorate handled 70,000 cases and the Nationality, Passport and Residence Affairs offered 121,000 services and issued around 300,000 visas.
The efforts of the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science contributed to solving some criminal and terrorist cases in 2018.
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