The Royal Oman Police (ROP)

The Royal Oman Police (ROP) enjoys the highest levels of support from His Majesty and the government, who recognize security as an essential precondition for the country’s development, progress and prosperity. The ROP carries out its mission with efficiency and professionalism which has had a positive effect in bolstering co-operation between the police and the public. While the ROP extends its services to everyone within the Sultanate’s borders, high priority is given to attracting Omani nationals – both men and women – into its ranks.

Advanced electronic services
The Royal Oman Police (ROP) employs the latest technology in all its operations and details of its services can be obtained from its internet website which received 31,970 visitors over the past year. A new electronic portal service has been introduced at Muscat International Airport to simplify procedures for passengers, along with a system for collecting charges by ATM card. Visas can now be obtained by filling in an electronic application form accessible a /visa/english, where an automated system will deal with queries.

The ROP’s passports and residence departments and sections in the governorates and regions continue to receive some passports and residence paperwork by post and offer a range of facilities aimed at encouraging tourism. The ROP is currently working closely with the Ministry of Tourism on the creation of a Tourist Security Police department to help cope with the increasing number of tourists visiting Oman.

The customs departments and customs clearance offices at overland border crossing points have been streamlined and the Directorate-General of Customs has been issued with equipment for inspecting containers and freight vehicles, thereby speeding up the movement of freight traffic over the Sultanate’s borders. The customs departments in the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (AGCC) states are linked with the customs centre at the AGCC Secretariat General’s HQ in Riyadh, to enable full and accurate data to be collected on trade movements between the member states and the outside world.

In addition to the traditional services provided by the ROP in such areas as civil status – i.e. registration of births, marriages, deaths and divorces – the new multi purpose Civil Status ID cards now being issued to nationals can be used as voter registration and health cards. Oman’s expatriate residents and their dependents are being issued with residence cards while, in a further step towards e-government, and in co-ordination with the Ministry of Manpower, labour and residence cards have been combined. In September 2008 it was announced that the ROP will start implementing a new system at the airports whereby Omanis and expatriates who possess the Civil Status ID will be able to proceed to a machine and use their IDs, without any need to stamp the passport.

Two mobile registration stations being set up by the Directorate-General of Civil Status will provide a full range of services to enable people with special needs as well as residents of inaccessible areas to process their applications and paperwork near to their homes. Working hours have been extended at the Civil Status Centre in the governorate of Muscat. It now operates from 6am till midnight. Working hours at the Salalah and Sohar centres have also been extended; they are now open from 7.30 am till 7.30 pm.

Training
The Royal Oman Police (ROP) prioritises training to the highest levels of all Omani recruits, irrespective of rank. Women have served in the ROP for over 35 years and their contribution and experience will be expanded by special training courses, currently held only in the governorate of Muscat, but with plans to go nationwide in the near future.

The Sultan Qaboos Academy for Police Sciences (SQAPS) provides basic training for members of the police force; training courses for students of the police colleges and diploma courses in police sciences for university graduates and those with equivalent qualifications. It also trains civilian personnel intending to join the military sector, as well as candidates for senior positions in the police, and holds courses and programmes for members of the ROP to bring them up to date with the latest technological and scientific developments relevant to their professional fields.

New installations and modern equipment
The Royal Oman Police (ROP) is continually building new facilities to keep pace with the latest technology and provide the best possible services for members of the public. The modernisation of its existing facilities is an ongoing process. The new Directorate-General of Passports and Residence building opened in the wilayat of Seeb in 2007 and work continues on the construction of a state of the art forensic laboratory as well as police command complexes in the Batinah and Dakhiliyah regions, the traffic services buildings in Sohar, Sur, Sumail and Rustaq.

The newly-opened Traffic Services building is equipped with the latest technology and is open to the public round the clock

Oil and Gas Installations Security Police stations are being built at Mina al Fahal in Muscat and Port Sohar, while studies are being carried out on plans to construct Oil and Gas Installations Security Police stations at Qalhat Industrial Port and Port Duqm. Several other projects are in the pipeline.

The Directorate-General of Prisons has moved to its new premises in the wilayat of Sumail in the Dakhiliyah Region. The well-equipped new Central Prison complex, built to the highest international specifications, has workshops and support programmes to help rehabilitate inmates. It comprises three separate prisons - one for adult males, one for juveniles and a third for women.

The Police Aviation Directorate has been extensively modernized. During the year under review, orders were also placed for search and rescue helicopters with the AgustaWestland company in Italy. Omani nationals continue to be trained as helicopter pilots, navigators and maintenance engineers. The Special Task Force Command’s new free-fall parachute team, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Directorate of Special Operations and VIP Protection, takes part in security operations requiring its distinct brand of skills and performs in free-fall parachute displays at national and police events.

‘Haras-l’ the ROP’s latest catamaran-style patrol boat provides security in Oman’s territorial waters, and is able to operate in the roughest weather conditions

The Police Coastguard Command has been supplied with a number of fast patrol boats with advanced technical specifications to assist it in protecting the security of Oman’s territorial waters, prevent smuggling and illegal immigration and provide assistance when required. The ROP’s catamaran-style patrol boat ‘Haras-1’, launched in Italy on 23rd May 2008, helps provide security in Oman’s territorial waters and is able to operate in the roughest weather conditions. The 52-metre long vessel has a helicopter landing deck, medical assistance unit, speed boats and can accommodate over 100 people. A second vessel is expected to be commissioned before the end of the year.

A Police Coastguard training centre and a coastguard station have been built at Port Sultan Qaboos.

Road safety
The Directorate-General of Traffic is working closely with the Sultanate’s other authorities to reduce the level of traffic accidents and the losses to life and property resulting from them. Traffic accidents are an international problem requiring the highest possible degree of co-operation between the countries of the region and beyond.

On 31st March 2008 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the world road safety crisis which the Sultanate introduced in collaboration with the Russian Federation. Previously, in 2004, the UN General Assembly had unanimously approved an Omani initiative calling for international co-operation to prevent road accidents.

The Sultanate took part in the First International Road Safety Week organised by the United Nations in May 2007 and in 2010 it is due to host the ‘International Conference on Road Safety’. In February 2007 it hosted the 6th Meeting on Road Safety at the Traffic Safety Institute, which was attended by experts from 60 states. The Sultanate won five prizes for road safety in 2005 and 2006 – in 2005 from the Indian Institute for Traffic Education and in 2006 from the First Traffic Safety Festival, which the United Nations held in Geneva in April of that year. Some 36 countries were represented at the event, though only three of them were Arab states. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) hailed the Royal Oman Police (ROP)’s efforts to enforce traffic safety procedures in its October 2006 report.

The ROP has introduced a new system to simplify procedures for dealing with minor road accidents, which is designed to minimise congestion and inconvenience to accident victims. Following its success in the Governorate of Muscat, on 1st March 2008 it was extended to the rest of the country. Women’s police traffic patrols have also been introduced; in the first phase these are limited to the Governorate of Muscat. A modern, well equipped Traffic Services building staffed by trained Omani nationals has now been opened and its licensing and vehicle registration services are open to the public round the clock.

Women take their turn on duty as road traffic patrol officers

Work has been completed on the automatic vehicle inspection center project, which is having a positive impact in reducing traffic accidents and improving road safety. This project, which comprises 14 inspection centers or stations in different parts of the country, carries out regular vehicle checks and investigates accidents using modern computerized equipment and computer programmes that conform to the highest international standards.

First aid and Civil Defence services
In response to His Majesty the Sultan’s instructions, over the next five years the Royal Oman Police (ROP) is expanding its Ambulance Service to cover every area of the country. First aid posts being set up are staffed with trained nationals and equipped with state-of-the-art ambulances. Currently the Ambulance Service has 16 centers covering the Governorate of Muscat and the main highways between the Batinah Region and the Governorate of Dhofar. Of its 16 first aid centers along the route, eight are in the governorate of Dhofar, while the other eight are located near the worst accident black spots. The number of centers is scheduled to increase with each stage of the expansion project until they cover every wilayat by 2012.

Meanwhile, a fully equipped mobile hospital will provide medical care and travel to wherever its services are required.

The exceptional climatic conditions resulting from cyclone Gonu, that hit the Sultanate in June 2007, highlighted the need for a more streamlined Civil Defence service and modern equipment including state-of-the-art fire engines. Therefore, new Civil Defence posts have now been set up in the wilayats of Shinas in the Batinah Region and Sumail in the Dakhiliyah Region. A Directorate-General of Civil Defence building is currently under construction.

Emergency Response Center
With regard to airport security, the Emergency Response Centre is undergoing an expansion and modernisation programme, in line with international standards for aircraft accident management operations centres. The system for issuing permits at Muscat International and Salalah Airports has been automated and modern inspection equipments put in place.

A mobile hospital provides medical treatment wherever its services are required

Courteous and firm
While making every effort to improve the services it provides for Omani citizens, foreign residents, tourists and visitors, the Royal Oman Police’s top priority is law enforcement. By adopting an approach that is both courteous and firm, it has succeeded in gaining the trust and goodwill of the general public, with positive consequences for the country and all those within its borders.

Visit The Royal Oman Police (ROP) website: http://www.rop.gov.om for online services.