ABU DHABI // A senior Ministry of Interior official has revealed new details about how the prison system is shifting its focus away from punitive justice and towards rehabilitation.
The reforms were launched last year following a directive by Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Minister of Interior. They were further spurred by a meeting with the Emirates Human Rights Association in June, where it is understood that ministry officials were told that freed inmates were finding it difficult to reintegrate into society.
In an interview with The National, Col Ali Juma al Shamsi, the ministry's deputy director general for Reformatory and Punitive Establishments, said the ministry was offering some Emirati prisoners access to social reintegration courses to prevent them from becoming disenfranchised from society and reoffending upon release. The courses are not offered to expatriate offenders because they are automatically deported on completion of their sentences.
Some prisoners are also being offered, in conjunction with private companies and government agencies, training to work as tour guides, firemen, paramedics, car mechanics, computer science technicians and office workers.
"We decided to resolve this [issue] ... through joint co-operation efforts. We examined ways to promote better communication to keep the association well informed about the ministry's policies towards prisoners," he said.
Col Shamsi claimed that many inmates were already beginning to benefit from the changes and were showing less inclination to reoffend.
He offered details about the programme instituted at Al Wathba Central Prison, which started offering a two-year social reintegration course last year in conjunction with the Higher Colleges of Technology's Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training.
The programme, which was inaugurated in March 2007 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, is available to prisoners who meet certain admissions requirements.
When it was launched, 57 prisoners were shortlisted for the programme, and prisoners who are released before completing the course are offered the chance to complete their studies at the HCT, which has 16 campuses throughout the Emirates.
Those who graduate will receive a diploma accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
A committee made up of members from the Abu Dhabi Executive Council was also formed to oversee the prisoners' progress and to help them find jobs after they graduated. The Ministry of Interior is also studying the establishment of a charity to support prisoners and their families.
The ministry, Col Shamsi said, further planned to organise a prisoners' day, where families of inmates would have the opportunity see prison conditions for themselves.
"Social stigma tends to hinder reintegration of former prisoners into society," he said.
He added that expatriate prisoners, who account for 85 per cent of the prison population, could also benefit from a range of activities and programmes while in jail.
Late last month, police unveiled plans for a new jail next to the existing Al Wathba prison that will house up to 5,500 inmates. Due to be completed in 2010, the jail is being designed to focus on prisoner rehabilitation in line with the reform efforts.
@email:rruiz@thenational.ae
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
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UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
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Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Company%20profile
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Thank You for Banking with Us
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Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
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Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners