The UAE has the lowest level of violent crimes in the world as indicated by the Violent Crime Index, which measures the decrease in such crimes at a rate of five annual crimes per 100,000 population per year, said Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan (photo), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

The number of crimes per 100,000 population was 119.8 in 2011, decreased to 110.2 by the end of 2013 and registered 90.6 in 2014 and 83.8 in 2015, he added.

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan was speaking at the recent Federal National Council meeting, held under the chairmanship of Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, FNC Speaker at the FNC’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

“The challenges of dealing with criminal behaviors are increasing globally; however, the UAE has registered the lowest rates, whereas assaults with swords, knives and other bladed weapons in the UAE accounted for only 0.9 per cent of the total number of violent crimes,” Sheikh Saif said.

The Ministry of Interior has taken a set of measures to achieve this objective, notably organizing awareness drives for school students, as well as awareness programs about the dangers of carrying and using knives.

“Some 86.5% of people in UAE are satisfied with their security during the day, while the satisfaction rate is 84.5 per cent at night,” Sheikh Saif affirmed, stressing that the UAE relies on the statistics carried out by an independent impartial entity, the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR).

“The speed limits displayed on the traditional road signs are the regulatory limits, and motorists are mandated to abide by these limits; and violating them will incur a fine,” Sheikh Saif said.

He highlighted that the number of traffic accidents fatalities has decreased by 54.7% between 2008 and 2015.