The total number of fraud and forgery cases referred to the Document Examination Section at the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters Forensics Evidence Department amounted to 1700 cases during the past three years. The cases comprised of falsifying handwriting, signatures, and passports as well as counterfeiting banknotes, trademarks, and diplomas. They also covered a variety of other issues according to Colonel Expert Dr. Ahmed Jomaa Al-Haddad, head of Document Examination Section at the Forensics Evidence Department of the Abu Dhabi Police.
Furthermore, Al-Haddad said that the Abu Dhabi Police employs state-of-the-art equipment to be used in the detection of counterfeit and forgery, which are operated by qualified and competent citizens.
In a lecture on the offences of counterfeiting and forgery, and the methods of detecting such crimes, Al-Haddad tackled the motives of forgery; he stipulated that the reasons behind these sorts of crimes are mainly economical although social reasons and other circumstances also play a part. The lecture was organized by the Decision-Making Support Center of the Abu Dhabi Police at the Police Officers’ Club.
He also made reference to the important role that documents play in daily life as they are the only official means of transacting within the community.
Moreover, he spoke about the development of the UAE currency, especially with regard to newly issued bank notes to avoid counterfeiting; he also cited the difficulty of counterfeiting UAE currency in comparison with other banknotes.
Along the same vein, Colonel Dr. Ahmed Al-Haddad urged the public not to affix their signatures on any white paper, so as not to be subject to fraudulent trading and exploitation. He also urged community members to avoid using simple signatures, and warned against receiving documents or checks endorsed with liquid inks, which may fade away after a period of time. He also stressed the need for the general society to learn about the security features of banknotes.
At the end of the lecture, Colonel Dr. Al-Haddad answered the audience’s questions on many matters related to counterfeiting and forgery. The lecture was attended by a large number of officers, people, and interested parties.