Sharjah Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD) has revealed the findings of their ‘Safe Community’ survey, which indicates that 99 percent of respondents – all Sharjah residents – feel safe in general, 98 feel safe home at night and 97 percent feel safe in public places at night.     

The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Sharjah Police to generate public feedback and assess satisfaction levels with the police’s public services and their performance in maintaining law and order in the emirate. The survey also aimed to measure the overall level of safety and security in Sharjah’s residential and public places.

Ninety-six percent respondents said they felt safe being alone outdoors at night, while 97 percent felt safe driving their vehicles or using any form of public transportation in Sharjah.

The survey was taken by 6,298 residents – representing a partly randomly selected sample set visited by DSCD in their homes. Part of the respondent set was pre-determined by the survey to ensure results as widely representative as possible. They included government employees, private sector professionals and people at shopping centres in Sharjah, Respondents were also picked in Sharjah’s Al Hamriyah, Central and Eastern regions.

Survey’s clear reflection of Sharjah’s safe and stable environment

Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairman of DSCD, said the results clearly indicated that Sharjah’s residents enjoy a safe and stable environment, highlighting Sharjah Police’s success in implementing the government’s directives on improving and maintaining the delivery of quality public services.

Sheikh Mohammed Humaid Al Qasimi pointed out that a broader segment of the Sharjah community was cut out to become part of the DSCD survey in order to increase the precision of results, and at the same, generate real-time and updated data to support Sharjah Police’s future plans and strategies.

He appreciated the cooperation the survey respondents extended to the researchers and data collectors, and applauded the efforts of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) for contributing to the success of this important survey. FCSA partnered with DSCD to train the survey’s researchers and other teams, including how to use their data collection system on field visits.

For his part, Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of the Sharjah Police Department, emphasised their dedication to advancing the safety and security standards enjoyed by people who reside in the emirate.

Thanking the leadership’s continued support to the Sharjah Police, he also expressed his gratitude to Sharjah’s Executive Council for following up on the results of the survey. He noted that their indicators confirmed the safe and secure measures and procedures taken by the Sharjah Police. He praised their dedication to implementing the Leadership’s directives towards fostering safety and security in the community, as well as elevating the effectiveness and efficiency of performance and security services at residential and public places.

Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi expressed his appreciation to DSCD and their efforts aimed at generating new and reliable data covering issues of importance for both society and economy, and commended their thorough follow-up on policies, programmes and plans by assessing their impact on ground realities as well as effects on residents’ lives and behaviours.

He said that the two parties will continue to integrate their efforts to assess the programmes and initiatives launched by the Sharjah Police, with the objective to continue securing the safety, security and well-being of community members.

World-class data collection in three languages

DSCD designed the survey questionnaire in Arabic, English and Urdu, and collected data using three methods – face-to-face interviews, online submission of the questionnaire by respondents, and telephone interviews generated by DSCD’s dedicated call centre.

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Emiri Decree No. 7 of 2014, to establish the Sharjah Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD) to create community development policies and strategies in Sharjah, in collaboration with government and non-governmental entities. DSCD provides precise and reliable statistics on social, economic, health, agricultural, environmental and energy conditions in the emirate to decision makers, local and federal authorities, researchers and the public.

DSCD is keen on developing and applying the highest standards of statistical methods, systems and applications. Thus reducing quality, timely and small area statistics that meet the needs and expectations of data users. Furthermore, DSCD analyzes data collected applying state-of-the-art   demographic economic and social methods including causality analysis. As such DSCD identifies socio- economic and demographic development issues and explains the proximate determinants (main causes) of each tabled issue. Such an approach assures the most direct solution to every tabled issue. Final results are employed for advocacy, policy dialogue, and results based development programming.