SECURITY cameras set up across the country helped track down more than 200 wanted criminals last year, it was revealed.
The Interior Ministry’s Operations Department worked round the clock last year and registered emergency cases on 999, including theft, traffic accidents and fire.
The department’s director Colonel Hamad Al Khayyat said the operations centre monitored those under quarantine, transferred active cases, and even supported the 444 Covid-19 service last year as they were flooded with calls.
“The communications centre (999) received 2,155,032 calls (January-December 14), of which 129,536 were classified as serious,” the official was quoted in the Ministry’s Al Amn magazine.
“Emergency patrols reported 31,981 cases as well.”
A breakdown of security cases recorded last year by the Interior Ministry that includes 601 related to drugs and 18 human trafficking cases
Col Al Khayyat said the number of cases registered including traffic accidents, by the security cameras, reached 21,862.
“The number of wanted persons arrested by the department was 216.
“The main operations room reported 9,554 accidents, 297 cases of maintaining order, 1,949 fires and 1,234 thefts.”
Meanwhile, the ministry’s magazine interviewed Northern Governorate Police director general Brigadier Isa Al Qattan who said they recorded 17,197 reports last year, including 1,446 assault cases and 1,104 thefts among others.
His counterpart in the Southern Governorate Police Colonel Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid Al Khalifa said they received 11,328 reports last year that included 30 cases of assault and five of theft.
The magazine mentions traffic statistics that included 5,642 emergencies, 42,000 parking violations and 800 reports of reckless driving last year.
Furthermore, Coastguard Commander Major General Alaa Al Siyadi told the magazine that Maritime Operations Centre received 3,551 reports that included 176 accidents, 1,856 violations while assistance was provided to 1,582 individuals and 639 ships.
He said more than 20 tonnes of illegally caught shrimp was also confiscated during the period.
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