Dubai Police applies Social Return on Investment to assess 13 community initiatives, demonstrating how policing contributes to measurable social value, public trust, and long-term societal wellbeing.
Police institutions increasingly contribute to societal wellbeing through community engagement, prevention, rehabilitation, and inclusion. However, the long-term social value of these interventions is rarely captured through conventional performance indicators. This study examines the application of Social Return on Investment (SROI) as an impact assessment methodology within Dubai Police.
A hybrid evaluative and forecast-based SROI approach was applied to 13 selected initiatives from a portfolio of approximately 80 programmes. The assessment employed Theory of Change, financial proxies, benchmark data, and Net Present Value calculations, with adjustments for deadweight, attribution, displacement, and drop-off.
The assessment estimated AED 604.6 million in social value across seven high-priority initiatives, reaching approximately 2.6 million direct and indirect beneficiaries, with an SROI ratio of 12.4:1. Six medium-priority initiatives generated an additional estimated AED 20.9 million, with an SROI ratio of 35.3:1.
The findings demonstrate the potential of SROI to extend impact assessment beyond traditional policing outputs towards economic contribution, community wellbeing, public trust, and social inclusion. Nevertheless, reliance on financial proxies and forecast assumptions highlights the need for stronger longitudinal evidence and stakeholder outcome validation.
The Dubai Police experience offers a transferable case for integrating social impact assessment into public-sector accountability, programme evaluation, and future investment decisions.
Major Dr. Eng. Hamad Saeed Rashed is the Head of the Forensic Trace Evidence Section at Dubai Police, United Arab Emirates. He holds a Doctorate in Engineering and has extensive experience in forensic