United Arab Emirates police officers and firefighters to receive training in Esri geospatial technology

The training courses will be held at the new GIS Center for Security - Abu Dhabi Police.

"The center is unique in the region, supporting UAE national security agencies with geospatial technology services," said Sohail El-Abd, General Manager for the Esri Middle East and Africa office.

"With the new Esri Authorized Learning Center, professional GIS training will be provided as well," he added.

The training will only be for police, firefighters and safety and security officers, with an emphasis on GIS applications for crime mapping and analysis, firefighting, and search and rescue operations. Abu Dhabi Police will hire the instructors, who will be certified by Esri.

Esri will provide all the training materials for the courses, which will include ArcGIS II: Essential Workflows, ArcGIS III: Performing Analysis, and ArcGIS for Server: Sharing GIS Content on the Web.

"The state-of-the-art learning center will develop a cadre of well-trained GIS professionals here who will put the technology to work to enhance safety and security," Esri president Jack Dangermond said during the Esri Middle East and Africa User Conference held this week in Abu Dhabi. "The UAE's citizens will benefit in many ways," he added.

Abu Dhabi has been a world leader in adopting GIS technology, using it extensively in many aspects of government including e-government services; homeland security; transportation; urban planning; and many other sectors.