ABU DHABI // Being trusted by the public is as important to police as solving crimes, a leading officer has said.
“We want to implement the Abu Dhabi Police strategy, which is to gain society’s trust,” said Col Mohammed Al Hosani, deputy director of Abu Dhabi Police’s Social Support Centre Department.
“We don’t just implement justice in matters of crime and making arrests, but we also have a responsibility towards the community.
“We want to help the community avoid harm, pain and dark times.”
Col Al Hosani said a three-day crime-prevention conference that begins in the capital on Monday will answer a basic question: could investing in early childhood be the difference between a happy, productive life or years of criminality and heartbreak?
“The conference will revolve around early childhood, not after the age of 3. This is a proactive move and not a reactive one,” said Col Al Hosani.
“We want them to grow up with good attachment, which is communication, so their base is good and solid.”
He said research showed that people’s character, what made them strong or weak and indecisive, was linked to early childhood and the quality of their attachment with their parents.
“One US study shows that children with poor attachment were 25 per cent more likely to drop out of school; 50 per cent more likely to be placed in special education; 60 per cent more likely to never attend college and 70 per cent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.
“Children must develop a healthy early attachment with their mothers,” who are the lead caretakers in most Arab societies, he said. The conference will also address the issue of working mothers.
Fathers, too, should invest in early childhood, said Col Al Hosani. “The father should be a complete source of support to the mother.”
Parents should also invest in their children’s early years “the same as we would invest in our jobs and with our money”.
He said there were always reasons behind a crime, which could be a result of an underlying problem in the perpetrator’s early childhood.
“Some of it goes back as far as early childhood, when a person’s character is starting to develop. Some things go back to genetics and some things go back to the circumstances in which a person lives. All these things affect a person’s behaviour.”
It is also important to shed light on the “golden phase” of a child, he said.
“Children are not the main business of the police, neither is motherhood, but it may have a huge impact on police in the future. Help us, so we can better help you in the future,” he said.
Col Al Hosani added that developing a solid base during early childhood would also help children to perform better in school.
The conference, which will have expert speakers from all over the world, will also address how society can help and support mothers.
“If there is a focus on these children from early childhood, their circumstances as they grow older will be better and healthier,” said Col Al Hosani, adding it would be difficult to grow into a healthy and fit adult without motivation and commitment.
“Forming a good attachment in the early years will help build self-confidence and sense of security and will decrease chances for depression, psychological problems and selfishness.”
Ultimately, he said, good attachment during early years will decrease the likelihood that someone will commit crimes.
“It will help them make successful decisions in life,” he said. “This will help the police and the services of the police in the future.
“If you want exceptional children, you should be exceptional parents,” Col Al Hosani added, quoting Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, who spoke at this week’s Government Summit in Dubai.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
