Police ‘need more training’ in communicating to people with special needs

The case raised questions about whether police are properly trained to deal with people with disabilities.

Nasib Obaid was among a group of people with special needs who told Maj Gen Abdullah Al Marri about communication issues they faced with police. Nawal Al Ramahi / The National

DUBAI // Police need more training on how to deal with people who have disabilities, community members said during an open dialogue with the chief of Dubai Police.

A group of people with special needs told Maj Gen Abdullah Al Marri that they had been involved in incidents where they were not understood by police because of their disabilities.

One young man with hearing loss, who was blamed for several car accidents, said police had repeatedly fined him because officers did not understand him.

“Whenever this young Emirati goes through a traffic accident, he doesn’t know how to deal with policemen, especially since they don’t understand sign language,” said Fatima Al Mannai, a sign-language interpreter for Dubai Municipality.

“He ends up to be at fault without understanding the reasons or even be given the chance to explain his side.”

Ms Al Mannai said several people with hearing impairments have reported the same problem, because many officers do not know sign language or how to communicate with them.

“A person with hearing impairment faces a lot of trouble when he or she is involved in a car accident or wants to lodge a complaint at police stations,” Ms Al Mannai said.

“One woman informed me she had been waiting for two hours trying to find someone who understood sign language at the police station. I went to the police station and did my best to help her.”

Police usually suggest that people with disabilities use a smartphone app called SOS, designed for those with special needs, Ms Al Mannai said, but it does not provide solutions for all situations.

Muna Hammad, corporate excellence expert at Dubai Municpality, said that among the requests made to Dubai Police is that traffic-fine department employees understand sign language or obtain communication skills for speaking to people with special needs.

“People with hearing loss were always blamed for traffic accidents and fines because police couldn’t understand them,” she said.

Ms Hammad also suggested harsher punishments for those caught parking in spaces designated for people with disabilities.

Maj Gen Al Marri suggested holding another meeting with the group to discuss how to improve Dubai Police services.

Other issues raised during the dialogue related to traffic rules and reporting accidents.

“We hope that the public cooperate with Dubai Police and that the number of traffic offences will be reduced,” Maj Gen Al Marri said.

“New smart applications will be introduced for consumers and will save consumers time, using the applications and not visiting offices – for instance, using applications to report traffic accidents instead of calling police and causing a major traffic jam.”