How to become a police in the United Arab Emirates - Research Paper Example

How to become a police in the United Arab Emirates On 2 December 1971, the United Arab Emirates was established as an independent federal state which consists of seven emirates namely Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, Ajman Umm Al Quwan, Ras Al Khaimah, and abu Dhabi. Since then, the nation has operated as one government. This paper delves into how to become a police in the United Arab Emirates. It looks into the career in totality including training, qualifications, promotions, benefits, retirement, management roles for university graduates, and how one is treated as a USA graduate among others. On May 6, 1976, the Armed Forces of the seven United Arabs Emirates became unified. The union merged the the Sharjah National Guard, Abu Dhabi Defence Force, Mobile Force of Ras al Khaimah, and the the Dubai Defence Force together with the other emirates’ small protection forces. The union was a great achievement for the United Arabs Emirates – it helped the nation become a ‘contemporary institutional state’. Statistics from the United State’s Department of State indicate that at present, the United Arabs Emirates’ Armed Forces consist of approximately fifty-thousand active-duty military units, with roughly two thousand five hundred in the Navy and four thousand in the Air Force (Thomas par. 7-8). Role of the Police and Security Apparatus in the United Arab Emirates The duty of the national police officers of the United Arabs Emirates entails maintaining public order, preventing and investigating crimes, and taking care of the lives as well as guarding national and individual possessions of citizens. They have the responsibility of ensuring that citizens obey the state’s laws and regulations. It is the responsibility of police officers to maintain law and order, to stop individuals from engaging in any criminal activity, and to arrest offenders. Police officer jobs are of various kinds and the main police divisions include civil defense, criminal investigation, emergency police, traffic, immigration, nationality and passports, courts-martial, trials, and prisons. The division of criminal investigation has a responsibility over ordinary criminal cases (“United Arab Emirates-Police…” par. 1, 3). Zainab further explains that while some police work as dog handlers, or detectives, others are employed to work in records department and in detective laboratories. Another part patrols the streets using cars or on foot. As Thomas explains, the primary duty of these Armed Forces is to protect the United Arabs Emirates’ homeland, thus, defending its stability and security (par. 11). In each of the seven emirates, it is the responsibility of the federal Ministry of Interior (MOI) to supervise Police General Directorates. Each emirate, however, takes care of its own police force and takes charge of the police stations therein through its equivalent Police General Directorate. Although every emirate police force in theory is a branch of the ministry, they, in practice, function with considerable independence and varying efficiency degrees. Police stations get grievances from the public, make the necessary arrests, and hand over most of the lawsuits to the public prosecutor. The cases are subsequently handed over to the courts. In cases that involve foreign defendants, in particular for moral turpitude crimes, the authorities often instantaneously extradite the defendants. All court cases are put on record with the Ministry of Interior. While reported police corruption incidents are not common, the Ministry of Interior intervenes in criminal cases a number of times in order to see to it that local police comply with federal law and policy (“United Arab Emirates” par. 13). Requirements for Becoming a Police Officer in the United Arab Emirates For an individual to qualify to become a police officer, he/she must not only have a minimum of high school education background or graduation from a police academy, but he/she must also have college education in order to qualify to work in most police departments (Zainab par. 3). According to Rossheim, police academy programs take twelve weeks to one year to complete, and that they consist of a range of coursework, from firearms and physical training, criminal law, to cultural awareness. The candidate is required to meet some other requirements, such as height, hearing ability, eyesight, and weight. To judge their analytical skills, the candidates are required to do well in a variety of tests. The candidate should also pass physical tests since the occupation is quite demanding; physical, psychological, medical, as well as intellectual strength and dexterity are vital. The candidate should also have patience since the application process is quite lengthy. Moreover, the applicant should have a clean police record (Zainab par. 3).  Rossheim explains that applicants who have been involved in drug offenses, multiple violations of traffic, and other issues that a background check reveals are likely to face rejection for the job. A civil-service ranking mostly verifies who is likely to receive admittance to the academy training program for state or city police. It is also necessary for the candidate to take a civil service test. Most police departments allow criminal justice students to start working as cadets. On fulfilling all the requirements of a cadet the candidate gets employment as a police officer once he/she attains the age of twenty-one. Moreover, applicants for police officer posts are required to go through an on-the-job training with higher and skilled police officers for a few months (Zainab par. 4). Police education in the United Arab Emirates The various police education and training colleges in the United Arab Emirates have a strict military environment. The degree programs that these colleges offer include a diploma in private law, a high diploma in private law, a high diploma in international law, a one-year certificate in police duties for constables, and a one year program leading to a diploma in law enforcement for people who are already university graduates. Others include a two-year program for a diploma in law enforcement, a two-year master’s degree program in law, and four-year programs for a bachelor in police science or bachelor of law degree (Kratcoski and Das 15). The Ministry of Interior explains that the United Arab Emirates have a Police College, a training institution that upholds the process of police officers’ training and preparation. This Police College was set up under the 1985 federal law number one which launched the period of training and study seminars two years following the award of a police science degree diploma to the student. The Police College has the responsibility of preparing police officers psychologically and physically, ensuring efficiency, capacity development and training of police officers at the state level, and increasing and improving their skills and expertise in diverse areas of work and security specialist community in the planning of research studies and legal, police, scientific seminars. This institute is a soaring scientific gravestone and a new tributary in human element development and link preparation to the home environment; moreover, it follows up knowledge and science developments on the global stage. In September 2001, the college started the study system association for police officers who have not finalized on the requisites for a bachelor's degree in Legal Sciences and Police. Over eighty police officers have enrolled into the study. Moreover, the 2005 Federal Law No. (31) has changed a certificate’s name into a Bachelor of Police Science and Criminal Justice. The launch of the teaching of curriculum-based training packages into the system is presently in place. The academic study on the credit-hour system is founded on the courses distribution to eight semesters, with each chapter consisting of sixteen weeks and the credit hours in every chapter amount to 18 credit hours. This gets the candidate on the Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal and Police subsequent to successfully meeting the graduation requirements. The college is also developing curriculum and training for university graduates to develop into a complete academic year study. The system is devised to set up university qualifications’ rehabilitation in disciplines that the ministry requires for one to serve as a specialist in security and the police force (Police College par. 5-8). According to the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, there has been a development in educational levels in the United Arab Emirates. Zayed University records that the emirates are in the process of bringing a transformation in their systems of public administration. The governments in the area have traditionally endorsed developmental endeavors, offered many social services to their citizens, offered citizens with employment opportunities in the public sector and preserved an income tax-free environment. The reform process aims to take care of some of the intricate facets of this motivated agenda by means of the promotion of efficient policy implementation as well as a leaner public sector (par. 1). As a result, the United Arabs Emirates’ Police made scientific qualification and education a requirement for the admission and selection of new candidates. There is an effective Scholarship Program which plays a significant role in educating a successful police force. Currently, the United Arab Emirates Police provides numerous scholarship opportunities founded on a variety of criteria, and it is as well working out a scholarship programs policy for graduate and undergraduate degrees with the intention of supporting human capital development, which is aligned with the Police goals of the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi Police par. 1-2). One of the destinations for meeting the needs of the United Arab Emirates’ Police scholars is the United States of America. In higher education, the goal of the United Arab Emirates’ Police Scholarship Program is to train students and make them eligible practically and theoretically to develop into officers in the security forces and in the police and enable them to qualify to meet all security tasks requisites proficiently. It also aims to offer essential training and study prospects to uphold the effectiveness of the police officers in various security areas. Thirdly, the United Arab Emirates’ Police Scholarship Program aims to follow up innovations and developments in every facet of policing job, law, and pertinent skill and availing them to students in order to make it possible for them to deal with security challenges more efficiently. The United Arab Emirates’ Police Scholarship Program also has a goal of conducting studies and research as well as arranging seminars and conferences that add to the resolution of security challenges (Abu Dhabi Police par. 3). In partnership with The University of Utah and Indiana University, the United Arab Emirates offer aspiring police scholars with a program in Executive Masters in Public Administration (EMPA). The aim of this program is to enlighten administrators in the public sector in the best public administration practices, enabling them to take in and process information from their region, their community, and the world at large and to build on and execute policy that will serve the motivated development plans of the United Arab Emirate efficiently. There is a dire need for training new public managers in modern methods of public administration and management and making them aware of the way in which these operate in other states. In addition, they ought to be leaders who can take other officers up to their high achievement standards. The other distinctive feature of the Executive Masters in Public Administration program is that it provides students who wish to specialize in the field of police administration with an option in Police Studies. Students who take this option enroll in three courses in specialized Police Studies which they substitute for three other Executive Masters in Public Administration courses. The Executive Masters in Public Administration program is intended to train graduate students for senior leadership and managerial positions in their police organizations. The program is grounded firmly in the functional business enterprise areas, with a concentration on the public administration industry (EMPA par. 2-3, 9). United States’ graduates in the United Arab Emirates The police officers who are the graduates of the United States of America are regarded highly in the United Arab Emirates. Compared to their counterparts who were only able to obtain local education, they are able to secure competitive and well-paid jobs for themselves, and they enjoy an added benefit of getting the opportunity to work both at home and abroad. These officers can enjoy international posting in United Nations missions, which give them the opportunity of enhancing their professionalism by being exposed to excellence standards in specialized training and international policing. They also get the benefit of meeting and learning from individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds. These US graduates expand their thinking on police service approach and on returning home; they bring with them the knowledge that is invaluable to police service. Benefits of working as a police officer in the United Arab Emirates Apart from the satisfaction derived from participating in serving and protecting the community, the job of a police officer is more rewarding in terms of salary. Police officers’ salary mostly depends on different factors, such as the length of time one serves as a police officer together with any rank advancement or type of promotion. Over and above receiving competitive salaries, the police in the United Arabs Emirates and other nations enjoy excellent retirement plans, extensive dental and medical coverage, bilingual bonus, holiday bonus pay, paid vacations, paid sick leaves, and off-duty employment among other benefits. Skilled officers also have greater opportunities of getting employment from the FBI or employment in rewarding private security professions (“Police Officer Salary & Benefits” 1). Advancement Opportunities for Police officers in the United Arab Emirates If a police officer works hard and maintains excellent working records, his/her career has a very bright future. If the officer improves his/her investigation capabilities in his/her job as a police officer, he/she may get promoted as a detective. The officer can also advance his/her career and become an inspector, sergeant, or captain (Zainab par. 5). Rossheim adds that most of these Advancement Opportunities and specialties call for one to advance his or her education. Retirement of Police officers in the United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Government records that according to the 2000 Law No. (2) on the United Arab Emirates civil pensions and benefits, men’s retirement age was sixty years while that of women was fifty-five. However, Leigh notes that the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Labor later raised its retirement age from sixty to sixty-five which added a further five working years for expatriates and other government officials (Leigh par.1-3). Conclusion Apparently, the United Arab Emirates enjoys a very strong, organized and tight knit police force. The police have been very effective in their work, and in fact the nation has one of lowest crime rates in the whole world, with nineteen crimes for every thousand individuals. This is because the police applies a zero tolerance policy and impose tough penalties for criminal offenders (International Investment Property par. 1). There is no doubt that working as a United Arab Emirates’ police is a very attractive, rewarding, and worthwhile prospect which provides the police with various benefits and opportunities that are not found in any other career. However, it is important for every individual who plans to embark on a career as a police officer to seek to comprehend the nature of this occupation as well as the conditions in which he/she has to carry out his/her duty as police officer. This is because the working conditions of police officers are quite dangerous and sometimes bloodcurdling. Police officers are exposed to the danger of sustaining injuries or even dying since they have to take care of dangerous and vicious criminals. In addition, irrespective of the prevailing weather conditions, a police officer must attend to his/her duties. Furthermore, the occupation at times involves working for long and strange hours. One should therefore be ready to do the job out of selflessness and out of the love of providing service to the public (Rossheim par.1&2). Works Cited Abu Dhabi Police. Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. “Dubai, United Arab Emirates.” Webehigh.org. Webehigh.org, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. Executive Masters in Public Administration (EMPA). Zayed University, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. International Investment Property. “Crime And Police In The United Arab Emirates.” Propertyshowrooms.com. Propertyshowrooms.com, 2008. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. Kratcoski, Peter C., and Das, Dilip K. Police Education and Training in a Global Society. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2007. Print. Leigh, Karen. “Retirement Age in UAE Raised from 60 to 65 in Labor Law Changes.” Arabian Business. Arabian Business, 30 Dec. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. Police College. Ministry of Interior, 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. “Police Officer Salary & Benefits.” Policehow.com. Policehow.com, 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. Rossheim, John. “What Does It Take to Become a Police Officer.” Policelink. Policelink, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. “Seniors in Abu Dhabi.” Abu Dhabi Government. Abu Dhabi Government, 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. Thomas, Jen. “The UAE's Military, a Force to Be Reckoned with.” The National. The National, 6 May 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. “United Arab Emirates-Police and the Criminal Justice System.” Mongabay.com. Mongabay.com, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. “United Arab Emirates.” U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State, 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. Read More