Completely Agree with you Swan Man
You hit the nail on the head mate.
Police isn't just third world, its also the way the state functions, especially with archaic and primitive ways of enforcing the law in courts and having a price tag for everything.
Well, you need the give the devil its due, the state lives off YOUR "service-charge" funding.
the beauty of this scheme, is that its with your money that they window dress up a deseart and dont give you any sense of ownership, all thats to dangling the carrot of "No Taxes".(!).
According to the U.A.E State Budget report released by the Ministry of Finance in Abu Dhabi, 80 percent of state (tax) revenues come from service charges and fines, so at everystage, there is an Emirati waiting for you with a big smile and an invoice, no matter where you go be it Du, Etisalat, Ejari, Wasl, SALIK or DEWA.
I did a calculation of my costs whilst i lived in Dubai, though the pay was at the standard 'crew' livable levels, service tax including Salik and other 'tag-alongs' which for me accounted close to 30 percent, and yet, no matter how long you live, there's never a permanent residency.
Dont ever make the mistake of buying a house, trusting the Arabs, you never know if they change the Governance by Royal Decree in 10 years and unrecognise the fact that a 'non-arab' owns a house in the U.A.E.
The fact that i love the most in the U.A.E, the arabs figured a way to hold everyone by the 'low-hanging-fruits' on contracts and there's no such thing as a "Pilot Union" that can ever be created!...
Mann you guys are screwed!.