Mindful of the global security challenges and developments in the present world, the government has launched many initiatives to safeguard its infrastructure. Among these are:
Hedayah Centre
In December 2012, UAE government launched the Hedayah Centre (Arabic for guidance), which aims to counter violent extremism by promoting understanding and sharing of good practices for the global interest.
The Abu Dhabi Safety and Security Planning Manual
The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council issued the Abu Dhabi Safety and Security Planning Manual - (PDF, 43.5 MB) to develop safe, secure and sustainable communities by ensuring that safety and security aspects are included in the development proposals.
The SSPM is based on the belief that places that are not within common vision or easy sight prove to be a favourable place for crime to occur. The primary focus for the manual is to reduce crimes against the person through changes to the built environment. It combines the three disciplines of personnel, information and physical security in a manner to create 'defence in depth', where multiple layers work together to deter, delay, detect and deny an attack.
The SSPM includes a set of strategies and measures that seek to reduce the risk of crimes occurring and their potentially harmful effects on individuals and society, by intervening in the multiple influencing factors/causes.
For more information, read Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.
Higher Committee for Crises and Terrorist Acts Management (HCCTAM)
The emirate of Abu Dhabi established the Higher Committee for Crises and Terrorist Acts Management (HCCTAM). HCCTAM leads the emirate's efforts to counter terrorism and is the owner of the Counter Terrorism Strategy. This strategy is organised around a series of work streams, one of which is protection. The strategy seeks to increase the resilience of the UAE against attacks.
Read more about Abu Dhabi's efforts to enhance safety in the society (PDF, 1 MB) in Abu Dhabi Safety and Security Planning Manual.
Community Protection Face Recognition initiative
To enhance the security of the UAE, Ministry of Interior deployed a face recognition system using advanced technology to protect the borders of the UAE, as well as its critical infrastructure and key assets. The system's biometric software scans images of individual faces for analysis and identification. It uses sensitive cameras to capture the faces of people. The cameras can scan and capture images of people standing near and far from the camera and whether in motion or standing still.
The UAE's smart initiatives to counter extremism and terrorism
The UAE Government advocates fighting extremism by stopping suspicious funding, disrupting the recruitment of foreign fighters, securing borders, preventing the exploitation of the web and social media and by contesting the use of religious centres to promote hatred and violence.
To this end, the government established the Sawab Center to restrict violent extremist messaging on the internet. The word Sawab in Arabic means doing the right thing. This online initiative counters false claims, highlights key activities conducted by the global coalition against extremists and amplifies credible voices to speak out against terror.
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