Dubai Tourist Police, part of Dubai Police’s Criminal Investigation department, handle non-emergency situations visitors run into: scams, lost property, disputes with a taxi or vendor, or general safety questions. If you’re in a genuine emergency, call 999 first; Tourist Police channels are for everything short of that.
How to reach them
| Channel | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Dubai Police App | Submit a tourist complaint, report lost property, or file a police report; select the relevant category once inside the app |
| Smart Police Stations (SPS) | In-person, self-service kiosks with a specific “Tourist Security” service, open 24/7, no officer needed |
| Call centre: 901 | Phone assistance for non-emergency matters |
| Emergency: 999 | Life-threatening or urgent situations only |
| Email / website | Written requests and full service details at dubaipolice.gov.ae |
Most standard tourist complaints, like taxi overcharging or a market dispute, get an initial response within 24 to 48 hours through the app or email.
Smart Police Stations: what to expect
SPS kiosks are unstaffed, interactive terminals available around the clock, and they work in seven languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Russian, German and Chinese. They’re placed across residential areas, business districts, free zones and tourist hotspots, including City Walk, Dubai Design District, and Expo City Dubai. Use the Dubai Police App or sps.dubaipolice.gov.ae to find the nearest one; as a visitor, you’ll typically need your passport details to verify your identity at a kiosk.
Beyond tourist support, SPS kiosks handle a range of routine police services, so if you can’t find “Tourist Security” on the menu at a given station, check under general complaints or lost and found.
A quick way to remember it
999 is for danger, right now. 901 and the Tourist Police channels are for everything else, taken care of at your own pace. If you’re unsure which applies, call 999 and let the operator direct you rather than guessing.
For the full list of UAE emergency and non-emergency numbers, see our Dubai emergency numbers guide.
