World Police Encyclopedia

(Note: Sample material is taken from uncorrected proofs. Changes may be made prior to publication.)

Israel

Background Material
Israel received its independence in 1948. Its total area measures some 28,000 square kilometers and its population is about 7 million. About 80% of the population are Jews, 20% are Arabs. Over half of Israeli Jews are native-born, while the rest hail from over eighty countries around the world. Some 90% of Israel's inhabitants live in over 100 urban centers, including the country's four major cities: Jerusalem—the capital city—Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beer-Sheba. The language of the country is Hebrew, and Arabic is the second official tongue.

The GDP of Israel in 2001 was 105,425 million dollars. The per capita GDP was 16,364 million dollars. 17% of the GDP is from industry; more than half of the high-tech product is exported. 43% of the GDP comes from imports, while 34% comes from exports. Israel's diamond industry produces about 80% of the world output of small polished stones. The average inflation has decreased to 3-4% in recent years.

The major challenge for Israel is to arrive at a peace settlement with the Palestinians and with other neighboring Arab States (Syria and Lebanon). The insecurity which exists in the country and the constant state of war and terror cause discontent within the population, and also a decrease in investments from abroad, a complete standstill in the tourism industry and generally, a decrease in economic growth.

Israel is a democratic republic with a parliamentary multiparty system of government. The principle of separation of powers is maintained, with three branches of government: the legislature (the Knesset is a 120-member, single chamber legislature whose members are elected every four years); the executive (the Government of Israel, in which the Prime Minister leads a coalition government); and the judiciary (Israeli courts). The Knesset elects the President (elected for a seven-year term, not renewable), who is the Head of State and exercises mainly ceremonial functions.

Israel does not have a formal written constitution, although the Declaration of Independence and a body of legislation provide for a gradual build up for a future planned Constitution. Israel's Supreme Court—acting as a High Court of Justice—can suggest the desirability of legislative changes and can rule on constitutional and administrative matters.

Contextual Features
The Israeli criminal justice system is adversarial in nature, and the judicial proceedings are in the hands of professional judges, elected by a public committee. Like in many other western systems, the criminal process in Israel is composed of two stages: the trial and the sentencing process. The judge decides if the accused is found guilty or innocent, based on the indictment and the material evidence. During the sentencing process, the judge is allowed to sentence the accused to any length of imprisonment below the maximum limit or to apply more lenient alternatives to imprisonment. Death penalty as criminal punishment for murder, was in existence until 1954, when it was abolished and replaced by a mandatory life sentence.

In criminal hearings, district attorneys represent the State and the Attorney General heads the Prosecutorial Branch. During the entire prosecutorial process, the prosecutor invokes the process of indictment and has the right to offer a plea bargain to the suspect or his/her attorneys. In magistrate courts, police prosecutors usually prosecute misdemeanors.

Children between the ages of 14 to 18 can be prosecuted, but are tried in special juvenile courts.

Every criminal suspect or accused has the right to choose an attorney who will represent him/her. The court has the right, to appoint an attorney, free of charge, if the defendant cannot afford one. In 1996, the Office of Public Defender was established and it employs both in-house and private attorneys.

The court system is three-tiered: 1. Magistrates' (or Peace) Courts, which exercise criminal jurisdiction on crimes punishable by no more than seven years of imprisonment or fine. Most of the proceedings in these courts are conducted before a single judge; 2. District Courts, which deal with all criminal cases beyond the jurisdiction of the Magistrates' Courts, and also serve as appellate courts for the District Courts' verdicts and other decision. A three-judge panel is appointed in serious cases; 3. The Supreme Court exercises jurisdiction over the District Courts' decisions. In addition, this court serves as the state's Supreme Court, sitting as a High Court of Justice. In this case, it functions as an administrative law court to provide judicial review of official administrative actions.

There is only one national prison system in Israel, which includes maximum, medium, and minimum security prisons, which serve general or particular populations (e.g., women and youth). Its principal role is the safe incarceration of the inmates and prevention of the inmates from causing harm to the society. This system also claims to have a role in the rehabilitation of the incarcerated population (The Prison Ordinance, 1971). The system is headed by the Prisons Commissioner, who is appointed by the Minister of Public Security.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is responsible for correctional services and for the probation systems—both juvenile and adult (Hasin & Horovitz, 1998 ). The Ministry also deals with correctional and treatment services for youths at-risk and at-risk families—including the institutions, hostels and half-way houses used for these populations—as well and adolescents who have been placed outside their home environment by a juvenile court order, and who were designated as "minors in need of protection" because of serious physical, social or emotional neglect. (Sebba et al., 2003).

The Anti-Drug Authority (ADA) coordinates all anti-drug strategy throughout the country, including enforcement activity with the police, education and publicity campaigns, legislation, treatment and community prevention activity (www.antidrug.org.il; Sebba & Horovitz, 2000)

Crimes in Israel are classified into three categories: crimes/felonies, misdemeanors, and administrative violations. The police compile the daily number of complaints reported by victims or offences detected by the police, and record and transfer the data to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), which publishes them monthly.

After a relatively steady climb in crime rates for 15 years (until 1997) (Rahav, 1998)—especially in property crime, which constitutes, on average, about 60% of the total recorded crime—there was some decline in recorded crime (in absolute numbers) as well as in the crime rate (files recorded per capita) from 1998 to 2002 (See Table). However, in 2003 there was again an increase in reported overall crime (+4.2% from the previous year). (See Table 1).

Property crime (including all thefts and break-ins) increased during the early 90s and reached a peak in 1997- 1998. Car theft, for instance, rose due to the relative ease in moving the stolen cars and dismantling or changing their identities within the Palestinian Territories, where the Israeli police had difficulty entering. In an endeavor to decrease this problem, a law has been passed which allows the legal selling of car-parts only by authorized dealers who trade in parts that have been marked and registered. Anyone selling un-marked parts will be prosecuted for selling stolen parts. House and business burglary and thefts of all kinds constitute a serious problem, both in terms of the economic impact on society and the traumatic effect these have on the victims, throughout the years. During periods in which there is increased terrorist activity—as in the present "Intifada" (Palestinian uprising)—(since the fall of 2000)—various anti-terrorist techniques are put into place, such as the closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to Palestinian workers, who would otherwise come to work in Israel. There seems to be a correlation between the decrease in crime rates and these periods of "closure"—probably because of the increase in police patrolling presence, increased police and army personnel surveillance at check-points and the decrease in the number of Israeli offenders, who prior to the Intifada, committed crimes together with Palestinian offenders, freely entering and exiting the Palestinian territories (Herzog, 2003).

Violent crime, has also been on the rise in the last few years—especially perpetrated by youth and organized gangs—perhaps also due to increased use of alcohol and drugs and culture-conflict of new immigrants. There was a steady rise in domestic violence in the mid 90s—which may be due to an increased reporting rate because of increased public awareness to the problem of domestic and spouse abuse. However, in the last few years there has been a decrease in such cases, perhaps due to increased enforcement policy of the police and immediate arrest of abusing men.

Other major changes that have occurred in the last five years include the strengthening and infiltration of organized groups of criminals (many from abroad), who use Israel as a base for money laundering and for setting up gambling, prostitution and drug-trafficking rings (Amir, 1998; Landau, 1998). Furthermore, there is an increase in fraud and so-called "white collar crimes"—especially within financial institutions. In recent years, there is an increase in the number of illegal foreign workers living and working in Israel. Their status precipitates other illegal activity—such as forgery of documents and fraud, trafficking in women for prostitution, property crime and violent offences. In 2002 a special unit in the Police has been established to deal expressly with enforcement issues regarding illegal workers.

Drug trafficking and drug abuse have also been on the rise, although in the last few years there has been a slight decrease in drug abuse by youth. However, there has also been a decrease in the age in which drug abuse begins (Anti-Drug Authority Annual Reports: www.antidrugs.org.il).

Traffic accidents pose a continuous problem, causing about 500 fatalities a year and between thirty to forty thousand injured. Since 2000, there is a slight but steady decline in the number of fatal and other accidents around the country, each year.(www.police.gov.il)

There have been four victim surveys made by the Ministry of Public Security since 1979 and until 2001. During the last survey (2001) (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2002) it was found that the victimization rate against persons is 10.2 and 7.3 pertaining to property crime, while only 37.5 % reported crimes against the person while 45% reported property crime to the police.

Police Profile

Background
After the foundation of the state, in 1948, a Ministry of Police was founded, to supervise both the Israel Police (henceforth, IP) and the Israel Prison Service; a single Commissioner for both the Israel Police and the Israel Prison Service reported directly to the Israeli Cabinet. From 1952, however, these functions were split.

In 1953, the Border Guard was set up within the IP to combat the problem of terrorist infiltrators and to patrol the State's frontiers. In the mid 50s, the police force was organized geographically into districts. In 1958, the growing demand for police services, forced the police to separate national staff work from field units. Its manpower and equipment establishment was codified; its investigations department went over to a proactive crime prevention strategy; beat-policemen and juvenile crime units made their first appearance and policewomen were given operational duties. In the 50s and 60s the Forensic Laboratory was upgraded and a mobile scene-of-crime laboratory introduced. In the early 70s, candidates with a university education and ex-army officers were recruited directly to officer-rank positions. Technological and scientific advances were absorbed more and more into police work. Due to numerous Palestinian terrorist attacks, the government, in April 1974, decided to hand over responsibility for internal security within Israel, to the IP and this in turn compelled the IP to make wide-ranging organizational changes to accommodate its new responsibilities. The Civil Guard was set up to mobilize, train, and equip tens of thousands of volunteers for patrolling neighborhood streets. The Special Anti-Terrorist Unit and the Bomb Disposal Division were set up. The IP created its Operations Division in 1975 to coordinate and streamline the work of all operational branches. In the early 80s the Community Relations Unit was set up. By the mid 90s, police officers' working conditions and welfare improved. Applications for recruitment had risen and the service set out to reevaluate its recruitment, placement, and training system, placing the emphasis on efficient and reliable service to the public, and encouraging ordinary citizens to extend their confidence in, and cooperation with, the police. IP intelligence services were overhauled putting emphasis on drug-trafficking detection and enforcement. Special units were deployed on the borders and ports of the country. Early in 1995, the Community Policing Unit was created, whose brief was to make policing more responsive to the needs of the ordinary citizen and to integrate the resources and goals of the police with those of Local Government Authorities and community agencies and services. 1995 saw also the creation of the Traffic Administration to coordinate the handling of urban and inter-city road traffic. In 1997, the IP's new Code of Ethics was officially introduced. Since 2000 to date, many police officers have been killed in the line of duty by terrorists and a majority of the patrolling police are occupied with security matters. However, other problems plague the country: increased youth violence, computer and internet crime, white-collar crime, trafficking in drugs and drug-abuse, women and arms - some by organized crime rings. These have made it necessary for the police to set-up special intelligence and operative units along the borders of the country, to upgrade international cooperation, to upgrade the computerized data bases of the IP, as well as to set-up computer crime units to deal more efficiently with a variety of new types of crimes.

Organizational Description
The force is commanded and directed, operationally and organizationally, by its Commissioner (known as "Inspector-General"), who is appointed by the Government on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Security. The Commissioner has no political affiliations and is usually a veteran police officer. Units attached to the national headquarters and directly responsible to the Commissioner are: the Office of the Legal Counsel, the Office of the Spokesperson, Accounting, the Office of the Internal Auditor and Ombudsperson, the Disciplinary Court, and Disciplinary Appeals Court, the Operational Safety Unit the Quality Service Unit and the Illegal Immigrant Unit.

Eight Departments constitute the IP's national headquarters, which is situated in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel: Investigations and Crime Fighting, Patrol and Security, Intelligence, Traffic, Logistics, Personnel, Planning, and the Community and Civil Guard.

The functions of the IP's national HQ Departments—each in its field of expertise—include professional guidance and training to the units in the field; policy and decision making; gathering and analyzing data; research and development; logistic support; resource allocation; review of operations and procedures; coordination with other departments and with external agencies.

The main computer systems are at HQ—containing the criminal files, 10-print fingerprint and palm print files of all convicted offenders, stolen vehicle files, and many other data bases, received from other Ministries—such as names, addresses and identification numbers of all adults in Israel, registration of all weapons and their ownership, vehicle registration and driving licenses.

There are nationally based units that are under the direct supervision of the Patrol and Operations Department: The Helicopter Unit; the National Vehicle Theft Prevention Unit; and a National Negotiation Team—used when hostage situations arise.

There are two national investigation units: one for serious and international crimes, (such as the operation of car theft rings, and drug-trafficking) and the second for dealing with white-collar crime, fraud and computer-crime.

Divided into geographic areas, the IP is organized into District Commands (in 2004—there were 7 Districts, however, the number has changed over the years—sometimes through integration and sometimes through separation). The District Commanders are directly responsible to the Police Commissioner. The District Commanders and the Department Heads at HQ—all hold the rank of Major General - and compromise the Senior Command Staff of the Commissioner.

These Districts are divided again into Sub-Districts, each of which is under the direction of a Police Commander. These are, in turn, divided into large Regional Police Stations or smaller Police Stations and Police Sub-Stations. To date (2004), there are 10 large Regional Stations (mostly in the metropolitan centers); 53 stations, about 100 sub-stations, about 360 community policing centers—usually, one-man police centers in neighborhoods or rural villages but sometimes a mobile or temporary centers set up in a specific area to deal with specific problems—and about 400 neighborhood Civil Guard Bases. The commanding officers of the police units, are all selected by national and regional headquarters: town mayors or other heads of locally elected councils have no say in these appointments.

Each of the Districts and Sub-Districts is managed by an administrative and operational headquarters that parallels the organization of the central IP Headquarters in Jerusalem: i.e. Police functions such as investigations, patrol and security, traffic, personnel management, community and (volunteer) Civil Guard affairs, are all carried out at national, district, sub-district and station levels. There has been an attempt to flatten out the organizational structure and do away with the middle management (Sub-District) levels. This is a slow process that has yet to be completed. Furthermore, a strategic plan, set up by the Community and Civil Guard Dept., will decrease the number of Civil Guard Bases by joining them up with the existing and planned Community Policing Centers.

The budget of the IP is provided by the National Budget and none is provided by municipal or other taxes. However, there are some services, provided by the police, that are paid for by the bodies or agencies receiving these services. These funds are channeled through the Ministry of Finance, to the IP.

In the last ten years the budget distribution has been as follows: over 75% for salaries; 22% for procurement; about 3% for R & D.

Demographics and Training
As of 2004, the Israel Police employs some 25,700 policemen and women, including soldiers doing their compulsory military service in the IP; 20% of this total, are women. Virtually all staff is enlisted to the Police. Only since 1999 has the organization begun to civilianize some of the jobs - especially secretarial and logistical support jobs. This trend increases each year.

On an average, (since 1995 to 2000) more than 1,000 men and women are recruited to the IP each year, the majority, for the core duties of patrol work, investigations, intelligence, traffic control, bomb disposal, and the Community and Civil Guard. There are some 8,000 Border Guard police officers—12% of them comprising of police officers from the ethnic minorities in Israel (Bedouin, Circassian, Christians, Druze and Moslems). Some of the police officers are recruited to the Border Guard as part of their compulsory military training (3 years for males, and 2 years for females), after completing their high-school studies at 18. Some of these continue on to a police career as regular police officers. In 1995, an amendment to the Security Service Act came into effect, enabling young men and women, to do their compulsory military service in other branches of the police. Since then, hundreds each year have made this choice.

The Organizational Behavior Division at HQ, is responsible for the selection process of all recruits—covering psychological and physical health, security clearance, schooling and intelligence testing of candidates, who are examined for general suitability and for suitability to a particular area of activity of the IP. All candidates are obligated to have completed High School (12 years) and taken their matriculation exams. Police officers are assessed for placement and for promotion using testing, interviews, simulations - individually and in groups—and by the use of "assessment centers." An officer leaves the Service by personal request, retirement, or dismissal. The age for compulsory retirement is 55, but many retire at the age of 50 as well—receiving pension payments according to the years which they served (2% of their present salary, for each year of service).

On the whole, the working salary and the working conditions of the police officers are above the average in the Israeli public sector workforce. The Commissioned Officers' salary is "linked" to that of army personnel.

A new police officer, once recruited, participates in a basic 25-week training course which consists of 4 weeks of physical training, 7 week of general police training and 14 weeks of specific police training. An officer must work for at least 3 years on the job, before possible promotion to the next rank. A proficiency test in his area of work must be passed. After another year on the job, the officer can be recommended by his/her commanders to go to the "Advanced Police-Officers' Course"—a 4-6 weeks' specialized training course. During the fifth year in the service, the officer is also eligible to go to the "Senior Police-Officers' Course" for those police officers who are slated to become commanders of units. This 5-10 week course, concentrates on material pertaining to the particular field of specialty of the police officer. Only after this second training course can a police-officer be recommended for promotion to Commissioned Officer (CO) status and take part in the CO Course which takes 30 weeks. During this training course, the officers also take part in academic studies for one semester at the Haifa University (for those who do not have academic degrees). For those who are slated to become Commanders of bureaus in police stations, a further 6 weeks' training in their particular area of work is necessary. For Police Station Commanders, a 13 week command and leadership course is given. For those appointed to be Sub-Division or a Regional Station Commander, there is a further 6 week Senior Management Course.

Promotion from rank to rank is achieved by seniority, completion of training courses and individual evaluation—both by commanders and peers. There are seven non-commissioned officer ranks and nine CO ranks.

Police officers having academic degrees are also recruited to the lowest rank, but can advance to Commissioned Officer, if they pass the assessment center and complete the Commissioned-Officer's Course, after about one year of service.

A new National Police Training Academy, is being built and will include specially designed training areas for different police activities. There is a separate Senior Officer's Training Academy, which provides the training in management and planning, and The Operational Fitness Academy which trains the police officers for self-defense, crowd dispersal, use of firearms and non-lethal weapons, moving around an urban environment and subduing a suspect.

Functions
The Israel Police, from its inception in 1948, has been a national, highly centralized force. Under the Israel National Police Ordinance (Revised Version), 1971, which defines functions and powers of the IP, the Police is responsible for the maintenance of law and order; for crime prevention; for traffic control; for the apprehension and remanding of criminals and suspected criminals; for securing public order and for safeguarding life and property; and for providing secure environment for detainees. (IP internet web site: www.police.gov.il, 2003).

In 1974 an additional responsibility was given to the IP—maintaining internal security and providing anti-terrorist activity within the borders of the country.

There are approximately 2,500 investigators (2003) and prosecutors. Police prosecutors present criminal cases to the Magistrate Courts, when dealing with all misdemeanors and some felonies. When a complaint has been reported to the police, and when there is reasonable belief that a crime has been committed, the police open a file and start an investigation. If the suspected offence is a misdemeanour or contravention, a police Commissioned Officer, with the rank of Captain (Chief Inspector) or higher, has the authority to decide that an inquiry falls within the jurisdiction of another agency having investigative and enforcement powers. In certain cases, there may be grounds for deciding not to investigate further or not to indict the suspect. In this case the person who reported the offence, receives a letter from the police stating the reasons for the decision.

After gathering the evidence, the police file is forwarded to the District Attorney's office or to the police prosecution unit or to other legal administrative units responsible for the prosecution of the crime. The responsible agency must then review the evidence and decide whether to request further clarification or investigation by the police, and whether there is a strong enough case to go to trial.

The investigative work is backed up by forensic science and criminal identification units at sub-district and most police levels, and various specialist units. The Investigation Department is also responsible for dealing with juveniles—both as suspects and as victims—from ages 12 (the age of criminal responsibility) until the age of 18. Youth police investigators, at the various levels, are specially trained, and in addition to their investigative work, also work on preventive activity in the schools and exercise oversight on places of entertainment that are considered of high-risk to youth. They coordinate their activity with youth and community social services at the city and neighborhood levels. There are also specially trained "domestic violence investigators" to deal with this offence.

A Victim Support Unit provides the professional input on all policy and its implementation regarding the support given to victims of crime—especially regarding special groups, such as those of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, "helpless" victims (such as the mentally retarded) or the aged.

The Division of Identification and Forensic Sciences, analyzes evidence using a range of tests (DNA, fingerprints, drugs, explosives and flammable materials, ballistics, etc.) in its specialized laboratories at HQ. Each regional subdivision has forensic technicians who are sent to gather evidence from crime scenes. The evidence is sent to the IP's central laboratories for further examination and for presentation by forensic experts as evidence in court. In addition, testing and evidence-gathering kits have been developed in-house and with collaboration with academic institutions. There is an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) at HQ which helps compare latent fingerprints, found at the scenes of crime, with the fingerprints in the central data bank of known criminals and to authenticate the identification of suspects with the help of their fingerprints.

Intelligence efforts are concentrated on serious "target criminals" in accordance with an evaluation that is made at the various strata of the police hierarchy. All intelligence data is centrally computerized. The intelligence units are responsible for all drug-related enforcement work, as well as for international cooperation with foreign police forces. Since 1949, Israel has been a member of INTERPOL, and extensive operational cooperation takes place on a regular basis. Several police representatives are stationed abroad, in order to facilitate international investigations.

At the district level, there are centralized intelligence units, whose task is to gather evidence and do under-cover work. Detectives work out of the stations at the local level, doing surveillance work, undercover operations and gathering and analyzing intelligence.

Police officers can detain, question, arrest and search a suspect, without a warrant, if they have reasonable suspicion that an offence has been committed, and if not arrested or detained, the suspect may cause harm to a person, to the public or to the security of the country. Furthermore, a police officer may arrest a suspect without a warrant if he believes that the suspect may disrupt an investigation or tamper with evidence or try to influence witnesses.

Upon the suspect's arrest, the police officer must identify himself, notify the suspect that he/she is under arrest, explain to him/her the reason for the arrest and provide the arrestee with a copy of the warrant, if such exists. According to the new Criminal Procedure Law (Law Enforcement Powers and Arrest) 1996, the police have to bring the detained suspect before a judge, in order to extend remand in detention, no later than 24 hours after the initial arrest if the suspect is an adult, and no later than 12 hours, if the suspect is a minor under 14 years of age. The court may extend the period of detention for up to a maximum of 15 days. Usually, however, the court extends the period for 5 days at a time. ( Haberfeld and Herzog, 2000; Sebba et al., 2003)

The IP has 10 detention centers (cells for holding suspects while they are under investigation and before prosecution or trial), at its disposal throughout the country. Most police stations also have some detention cells. Youth, adult men, and adult women are each confined separately, as required by law.

The patrol and operations units' chief responsibility is to respond to public calls for assistance, usually telephoned into the Emergency Calls Center by dialing '100'. They are the first line of response to any emergency, whether road accident, natural disaster, or terrorist attack.

At major events and large gatherings, the patrol units take charge of maintaining public order. If necessary, they are reinforced by officers drawn from other units. In certain events that are run by a profit-making body, the services of police-officers can be hired for an hourly fee, in order to upgrade the standard police presence.

The Special Patrol Units were established to give the IP a rapid response capacity to incidents of particular severity or danger. Together with the Border Guard's Special Units, they are the first to respond to any life-endangering security incident or mass-casualty disaster. They are routinely deployed against particularly dangerous criminal targets or where there are geographical concentrations of criminal activity. Any arm of the IP can call on them for immediate reinforcement.

The patrol function uses cars, jeeps, motorcycles, scooters, dune-buggies, boats, and helicopters as well as horse-patrol.

To help prevent terrorist and criminal activity in residential areas, the Civil Guard maintains a network of neighborhood Civil Guard Bases, run by a police officer, whose task is to recruit and operates armed mobile and foot patrols of volunteer citizens, run training programs and organize rapid response teams for emergency duty.

Civil Guard volunteers, aged 17 to 90, number annually approximately 70,000. While on duty, the volunteers have police authority, and are usually armed with police rifles and portable radio transmitters and identification vests given them only while on duty. Regular volunteers must volunteer for at least four hours per month, must undergo regular target practice and other police training courses. The Civil Guard also includes "special units" that provide volunteer aid to regular police units in traffic control and enforcement, patrol functions, emergency rescue units, agricultural theft prevention. These uniformed volunteer units, undergo specialized training and volunteer between 4 to 6 hours per week.

In 1994 the IP began to implement the Community Policing strategy. The essence of this approach is that the police should work in partnership with local authorities and community agencies, all pooling their resources to prevent or minimize crime, social problems that lead to crime and incivilities that decrease the quality of life. Community Police Officers were deployed to Community Policing Centers in the rural areas and in the neighborhoods of large cities. Multi-agency models for tackling different types of crimes are being implemented. (Geva, 1995; 1998; 2003; Geva & Shem-Tov, 2002)

In 1999, based on the COMPSTAT method used by the NYPD, computerization of all policing activities was implemented, while linking the stations to the central computer at HQ. This allows the local police commanders as well as the management staff, to keep track of changing crime and traffic accident patterns and plan preventive and enforcement strategy.

The traffic units enforce road traffic laws, investigates road accidents, educate and informs the public in road discipline.

In the Traffic Department specialists instruct other staff in traffic law enforcement, handle prosecutions and investigates accidents; a strategic arm looks for ways to upgrade staff skills and develop new detection and enforcement technologies; an operational arm—the National Traffic Police—is responsible for enforcement and traffic flow on inter-urban roads and, together with local city traffic units, for enforcement campaigns inside towns. Specialized traffic units at all levels from station to district, are assisted by thousands of Civil Guard volunteers.

The "2000 Traffic Command Center" updates the public on traffic conditions, by use of a system of CCTVs on major intersections and roadways. Other technological advances, such as an automated traffic-light camera ticket-issuing system, attempt to deal with the high rate of traffic accidents in the country.

The Planning Department manages all IP resources, its budget, its staff and its data-banks. It coordinates all short- and long-range staff-work and planning, designs systems and tools for planning and for the collection and analysis of statistics. It also draws up and disseminates Police Orders and NHQ Directives.

Under the Technological Administration's remit comes responsibility for developing and maintaining computer systems, building databanks, and supplying data processing services as well as communications systems to all police units. The IP is presently working to computerize all patrol vehicles, all border crossing checks by persons and vehicles, all police station work, the Investigations and Intelligence Departments, and other units.

The Logistical Support Department is charged with the management and care of the IP's material supplies, building projects, vehicle and other equipment procurement and maintenance and the provision of logistical support to all IP operations and staff.

Dogs are used mainly for drug and explosive detection, search and rescue operations. Horses are used for patrol and crowd control.

Complaints and Discipline
At each District level there is a Public Complaints Officer, who can receive complaints from the public and investigate them. The public can also send a complaint to the Police HQ Ombudsperson or to the Ministry of Public Security Ombudsperson. The Discipline Division draws up indictments to the IP's Disciplinary Court, where hearings are heard before the Police Judge, two additional Officers, who act as judges, and a "public representative," a lawyer from another agency. There is also an Appeals Court.

Complaints which deal with suspected criminal matters or the un-lawful use of force, are dealt with by the external "Department for the Investigation of Complaints Against Police Officers", under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice. It was set up in 1992 following public pressure and a gradual change in the attitudes regarding the issue of police accountability. Earlier, all complaints against police officers were handled internally by the IP. Less serious cases continue to be dealt with by the Internal Investigations Unit within the IP. If the complaint is sustained, then a Disciplinary Board hears the case and provides judgment. All verdicts are subject to appeal and are then passed onto the Disciplinary Appeals Board for further decision.

Training in police ethics are a part of all police training courses, at all stages of the police career (Geva 1995; Herzog 2000a; 2000b).

Terrorism
The IP is directly responsible for anti-terrorist activity and for security of the population within the country's borders. Thus, in 1995 responsibility for school perimeter security and, in 1997, for public transport security was also added. For this assignment, the IP has allocated a fleet of vehicle patrol units, briefed to patrol the perimeter and vicinity of schools and other educational institutions, and of bus, train, and taxi stations, to detect and prevent terrorist or criminal activity.

The Patrol and Operations Department is also responsible for providing input regarding the security standards needed to enable the licensing (by the local authority) of business premises, considered to be of "high-risk." At local level, "business licensing officers" make visits to business premises to check the attainment of such standards, both before and upon renewal of licenses.

The IP's Anti-Terrorist Special Combat Unit, which organizationally belongs to the Border Guard, deals with terrorist activities within the borders of the country, operates in hostage-taking situations—both terrorist and criminal in nature—and sometimes assists in the handling of serious public disturbances.

The Border Guard Police is the para-military 'gendarmerie' force within the IP, work under the supervision of the District Commanders. Its tasks are to deal with security and anti-terrorist duties, to guard and patrol the Israel-Palestinian Autonomous Area border, to deal with public order disruptions and to prevent agricultural theft.

Established in 1975, the Bomb Disposal Division operates in the realm of both criminal and terrorist sabotage activities. The bomb disposal technicians, at the local level, handle about 100,000 calls per year to check suspicious objects, parcels and cars, and lately- suspected persons carrying bombs on their person. On average, less than 1% of these calls involve actual incendiary or explosive devices. An important aspect of their work is the prevention program, which includes surveillance of crowded public areas and facilities, and educational programs in the schools.

The HQ Division has its own R&D Unit, to develop specialized equipment and techniques as well as a separate laboratory to provide analysis of explosive devises and modus operandi. The Israel Bomb Disposal Information Center, gathers, analyzes and disseminates information to police sappers and to other security organizations in the country and worldwide.

International Cooperation
Since the early 1970s there has been much international cooperation between the IP and counterparts around the world in the following areas of expertise: forensic science—in which there is on-going collaboration, in research and development, with many major laboratories around the world. Joint projects have brought about development of new methods in the area of fingerprint identification, explosive analysis etc.

Another major area of international cooperation—and especially since the early 90s—is in the bomb disposal and anti-terrorist tactics, equipment and technologies. Numerous international Memoranda of Understandings have been signed with European and Asian countries in this respect, and these have brought about exchanges of police officers to study methods and techniques in the relevant countries (Geva 1995).

Since the late 1990s, Community Policing and especially the mobilization of police volunteers, has been another major field of cooperation with other countries (e.g. an exchange program with the State of Georgia, U.S.A.)

Police Research and Publications
No formal police research institute exists in Israel at present. However, the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Public Security is responsible for the planning, coordination and analysis of police related research. Each year, the Chief Scientist solicits Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from the IP and then chooses research groups (public or private) or agencies, through a tender process, to undergo the research which was decided upon for that year. This research varies from technological and forensic R & D to the social sciences and management areas. Within the police, various police departments have Research Sections, which undergo small-scale research projects in their field of activity. These include: forensic sciences, traffic enforcement, technological and computer development projects, as well as in the management areas, and community policing.

The Community and Civil Guard Department at IP HQ publishes:

Marot Hamishtara (Police Sights): a bi-monthly journal, disseminated to all IP staff and IP pensioners as well as to journalists, judges, Members of Knesset, and libraries. No subscription. In Hebrew.

Mishtara Ve'Hevra (Police and Society): A reviewed academic annual publication, including articles and research reports. No Subscription. In Hebrew with English abstracts. Since its inception in 1997 it has produced 8 issues. Since 2000 it is published in cooperation with the Senior Command School of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Distributed to libraries, academic institutions and the Senior Command of the IP and the IDF.

The Ministry of Public Security—Information Services Division publishes a yearly journal in English called: Innovation Exchange. This publication publishes articles on the latest innovations in crime prevention, law enforcement, corrections and incarceration. A major chapter in this journal contains articles on innovations and implementations in the IP. Since its inception in 1990 to date (2004), it has put out 11 issues.

The following are notable websites devoted to Israeli policing:
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC): http:// www.us-israel.org
Central Bureau of Statistics: http://www.cbs.gov.il
Israel Police: http://www.police.gov.il
Israel Prison Service: http://ips.gov.il
Israel Anti Drug Authority: http://www.antidrugs.org.il
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mfa.gov.il

—Ruth Geva and Sergio Herzog

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Table 1: Reported Crime and Crime Rates in Israel: 1994-2003

Year	Total Reported Files*	% Change in Reported Crime from Previous Year	Average Population**	Crime Rate(per 1,000 population)
1994	386,066	-	5,471,500	70.5
1995	411,531	6.60	5,612,300	73.3
1996	438,063	6.45	5,685,100	77.0
1997	498,550	13.81	5,826,900	85.5
1998	516,435	3.59	5,970,700	85.5
1999	484,950	-6.10	6,125,300	79.2
2000	466,038	-3.90	6,289,200	74.1
2001	469,073	0.65	6,439,000	72.8
2002	464,854	-0.90	6,570,000	70.7
2003	484,688	4.27	6,750,000	71.8

Sources: *http://www.police.gov.il/english/Crime/Trend_Analysis/xx_trends.asp
** http://147.237.248.51/shnaton54/st02_01.pdf

Sample Entries