Dubai: As part of Dubai Police’s campaign "Begging is a Wrong concept of Compassion”, the Al Raffa Police Station 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 per an integrated security plan in cooperation with the Department of infiltrators and partners to intensify patrols in places expected to be frequented by beggars.

Brig. bin Ghalita explained the campaign showed evident success 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 from the society.

"There are official and charitable entities and authorities that are ready to help the needy, which we, at Dubai Police urged whomever 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 as it increases cases of thefts and pickpocketing," Director of Al-Raffa Police Station continued.

"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 will be fined AED 5,000 and imprisoned for a term up to 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 AED 100,000." Brig. bin Ghalita stressed.

The 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 cyber-beggars and online suspicious activities on http://www.ecrime.ae