First Emirati female police officer to work in Maritime Rescue Department

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Major Ateeqa Musabah Al Dhaheri is the first female member to work in the Maritime Rescue Department and the first woman to work as a duty officer at Dubai Police.

As a duty officer, Al Dhaheri is charged with supervising the progress of the security situation in the emirate and the command and control centre; following up all police stations; communicating with all duty officers in all sectors; following up important communications and emergency cases; and following up the workflow of traffic and security patrols.

Al Dhaheri thanked Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, and all Dubai Police commanders for their unlimited support and confidence in the female personnel.

Talking about her experience, Al Dhaheri said she received a phone call from the head of the Command and Control Centre of the General Directorate of Operations that she was nominated for the shift in April of this year to be the first female member to assume the shift duties at the centre.

“I felt very happy and proud of this news and thanks to my trust in Allah Almighty first and second in my abilities and qualifications to compete and be able to carry out such a task.

“This is an achievement and a source of pride for me that is added to my career. During the shift, I received many phone calls related to reports and accidents in Dubai and chaired a meeting in the presence of a number of duty officers at the police stations in the Daily Brief Hall. Besides, I visited police stations where I met the duty officers to follow up the security situation and fulfilled the required tasks to the fullest, thanks to teamwork and the support of all colleagues from all public administrations and police stations.”

Speaking about her work as female officer in the Maritime Rescue Department, Al Dhaheri said she was about to drown at the age of 11 and since then she did not practice swimming until she joined the women team to lead maritime boats at Dubai Police.

“In February 2023, I received news that I was selected by the Director of the Ports Police Station to assume the duties and powers of the Acting Head of the Maritime Rescue Department, to be the first member of the department to assume this position,” she said.

“Previously, I obtained a professional diploma in maritime security to be the first female member to obtain this diploma. As a result of training and field experience I gained through the training program prepared by the centre’s experts and trainers, I was able to work in the Maritime Rescue Department, which is one of the most important departments that contribute to saving people’s lives and helping them in emergency cases at sea,” she added.

Talking about her career, Al Dhaheri said she joined Dubai Police in 1993 and carried out many tasks, including chief of women detention and police officer in the prosecution and courts station.

“I also worked as police officer in the General Department of Airport Security, Ports Police Station and fulfilled many tasks for the Archive Division, Customer Service Section, Customer Happiness Section, Women’s Council and women's maritime team,” she added.

Al Dhaheri made nearly 85 achievements including certificates of thanks, badges of appreciation, medals, awards and other honors. Most notable of these achievements included among others winning the first place in  the 21st Middle East Women Leaders Excellence Award in Police Sector 2020, the first place in the Director General Award in the category of best supervisory officer in 2020, the second place in the Emirates Women Award in the category of Distinguished Employee 2022, the third place in the Dubai Police Commander-in-Chief Award for Excellence 2019.