Dubai Police aid inmates’ families with housing and reunions

Brigadier Jameela Al Zaabi, former director of Dubai Police women’s prison, described how Dubai authorities helped families affected by imprisonment.

The Humanitarian Care unit within the prison system assesses the needs of inmates’ families from the moment someone enters custody. A committee then reviews each family’s situation, including children’s schooling, to determine if financial assistance with rent or school fees is appropriate.

Officials provided support to prevent sentences from creating hardship for relatives, but could deny aid if they believed a family had deliberately created difficult circumstances. Al Zaabi also detailed efforts to protect children of female inmates. The prison arranged discreet schooling for young children, around four years old, using unmarked cars and nannies to avoid identifying them as having an incarcerated parent.

Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2024 allows mothers to keep newborns with them in prison for up to two years, ensuring continued contact after that point. In one case, Dubai Police used diplomatic channels to locate a woman’s daughter after the mother, sentenced to ten years for drug trafficking, lost contact with the friend who was caring for her child. The police eventually discovered the girl was in a children’s home.

In another instance, prison staff reunited a woman with her parents after fourteen years of separation by surprising her with a visit during a meeting with a manager.