Police in Dubai are taking a 'byte' out of crime - and using a love of gaming as a force for good.

Dubai Police's artificial technology centre started out as a digital training ground for budding officers, allowing them to hone their skills and senses in the virtual world before enforcing the law on the streets.

Such has been its success, the dedicated team of programmers and designers have gone on to produce gaming apps delivering an educational message to the wider public which have been downloaded tens of millions of times.

The centre, based in Al Barsha, was established in 2010 to produce games solely for the purpose of training police academy students on problem-solving skills and legal procedures they would encounter in their careers.

It is believed to be the only in-housing gaming development centre operated by a police force in the world.

We received positive feedback on the virtual training Captain Dawood Mohammed Hasan

“The idea of having our own virtual training centre was suggested by a Dubai Police officer after he obtained his PHD degree in a relevant topic,” said Captain Dawood Mohammed Hasan, deputy director of the centre.

Students had to pass a minimum of six out of 11 scenarios playing out before them in each semester, ranging from traffic incidents to armed robberies and murders.

“The games provide students with different tools they can use in order to decide which legal procedure to be taken in the scenario they are working on,” he said.

“Every procedure taken by the trainee is saved on the device then later assessed by the trainer.”

The digital strategy proved a hit, with those students who had undergone virtual training going on to perform significantly better in the field.

Close to 5,000 students sharpened their policing abilities on the simulations between 2010 and 2019.

Staff work on the latest in a production line of games mixing education and entertainment. Antonie Robertson/The National

“We received positive feedback on the virtual training. These trainings boosted officers’ competencies and also helped save money because they reduced the number of costly field trainings,” said Cpt Hasan.

In 2012, the centre expanded its operations after partnering with Khalifa Empowerment Programme (Aqdar), an organisation focused on a range of issues such as youth development and education under the guidance of Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

“The programme wanted us to develop educational games for the public, mainly children,” he said.

An extensive survey of more than 1,200 pupils and students was carried out to gauge their gaming interests before the first products were rolled out in 2013.

A number of popular apps have followed, including Aqdar Smart City, Theme Park, Badayer Racing and Camel Racing, which were designed to spread awareness on different topics including healthy eating habits, traffic safety, building knowledge and ethical values.

The apps - mixing entertainment and education - received the royal seal of approval and have also won a clutch of international digital and policing awards.

The games help impart valuable messages in a number of ways.

In Camel Racing, for example, the player's creature drops in performance if it eats unhealthy food, helping to encourage a good diet.

“They were launched separately by Sheikh Saif bin Zayed and the positive feedback was very strong from his highness personally,” said Capt Dawood.

Capt Abdulrahman bin Fahad, head of the scenario section at the centre, said other games have also been developed for visitors to smart police centres.