At least 40 children to benefit from prison nursery in Dubai

Dubai Police's Punitive and Correctional Establishments wants to give children living in jail with their mothers an opportunity for a more normal environment.

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DUBAI // A nursery for the children of inmates will be fully equipped and ready to accommodate at least 40 children by next year.

Brig Ali Al Shamali, head of the Punitive and Correctional Establishments at Dubai Police, said that construction of the building was under way and it will have everything a child needs.

“There are now about 52 children at Punitive and Correctional Establishments in Dubai,” he said.

“According to the law, a child stays at the establishment until he or she is two years old, after which the child is handed over to the female inmate’s parents or spouse.”

However, Brig Al Shamali said that there were a number of cases in which children over the age of two stayed with their mothers because she had no available family members to take care of the child.

“Most female inmates do not have family in the UAE,” he said. “Not more than 1 per cent of the children are Arabs, and the rest are of Asian and African nationalities, among others.”

Brig Al Shamali said that the new nursery would contribute to Dubai Police’s plans to give the children, who currently stay in a special ward with their mothers, a more normal childhood, separate from their mothers’ imprisonment.

“We want to give the children a chance to have a childhood, and the mothers an opportunity to visit their children to spend enough time with them in a friendly environment,” he said.

“The nursery will teach children the basics for their age group, as well as needed skills to further their knowledge.”

dmoukhallati@thenational.ae