DUBAI // Some officers see them as troublemakers. Others regard them as spies. They view themselves as a force for improvement.
They are the members of Dubai Police's somewhat curiously named mystery shopper unit.
The team acts much in the same way as the retail industry equivalent and forms part of the force's organisation assessment department.
About 15 people from different police disciplines are picked every year to pose as members of the public and carry out regular checks on their colleagues. The chosen individuals are asked to evaluate the services provided in order to ensure the public receive high quality protection.
Those who work within the team admit they aren't sure some colleagues fully comprehend the function of the unit, which was established in 2003.
"Some departments understand our real role, while others consider the mystery shopper a disaster," said Lt Ibrahim al Ahli, who heads the unit. "There are some who view the mystery shoppers with suspicion. Some reject the job as they tend to view it as spying on their colleagues, but this concept is changing with time."
The unit provides reports on the performance of police branches to the board of directors and department heads so they can make informed decisions on how to improve the force and its staff.
The mystery shoppers visit police stations and offices to check on criteria such as the building and premises, staff attitudes and performance, and service transaction.
"We check everything," Lt al Ahli said. "We enter bathrooms to check their cleanliness, if there are tissues and soap. When violations are spotted we take photos as evidence."
They also assess phone and online services. The only area that does not come under their inspection is criminal reports, as these people cannot claim that they are victims of crimes.
Violations spotted by unit members in the past year included dress-code issues such as an officer not having an identity card visible.
"To clearly display the name on the uniform is important," said Lt al Ahli, as knowing the names of people guilty of misconduct "would make it easier for members of the public to report them".
The unit is handled internally by Dubai Police, which generates some external criticism as such self auditing goes against the general concept of mystery shopping, said Cem Pozam, the business development manager for International Service Check, which runs such mystery shopper services.
"Having no independent entity or a third party involved in evaluating the service is the wrong approach, as the person evaluated might be a friend and thus affects one's judgement," he said. "Having people doing it from the inside defeats the whole point."
The integrity of the judgement was not the only obstacle with self-auditing, Mr Pozam said, as the experience of an independent mystery shopper was different from a person who worked in the establishment.
However, Lt al Ahli said precautions were taken by the police to ensure that did not happen.
"We follow best practices and we ensure that the mystery shoppers do not know any of the people that they are evaluating," he said.
Since 2009, the unit has asked real customers if they can accompany them into the station and observe their transactions. They then ask the clients to fill out evaluation forms.
The unit provides semi-annual reports on their findings. Among the faults spotted by the unit was a lack of basic English-language skills among police personnel, an issue that was quickly addressed.
"Minimum English-language ability is a requirement, so we reported the issue and now all front line employees have to take English courses," said Lt al Ahli.
The unit has also taken steps to broaden its membership and has begun to reduce the number of Emiratis while increasing the number of expatriates to ensure that a high quality of service is provided regardless of nationality. About half of the mystery shoppers are Emiratis.
