Policy and Principles
Recruitment and Human Resources
Service to the Public
The Israel Police and the Community
Investigations and Intelligence
Operational Issues
Weapons, Knives, Pocketknives
Traffic
Communications Issues
Issues under the Responsibility of other Bodies
Children and Youth
Policy and Principles
Question: Does a policeman have to identify himself to a civilian?
Answer:
According to the National Police Headquarters’ Order (14.01.34, section 3c), while conducting a police hold-up, and all the more during an arrest, one of the policeman’s obligation is to identify oneself.
According to the Police Ordinance, Section 5A:
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A uniformed policeman shall wear a visible identification badge, bearing his first name and family name.
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A non-uniformed policeman, acting under his vested powers against a certain person, shall identify himself to that person by stating his name or official title and indicate that he is a policeman, and he shall also present him with his designation certificate.
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A uniformed policeman, acting under his vested powers against a certain person, shall present him with his designation certificate upon that person’s request.
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Any policeman, whether uniformed or non-uniformed, shall impart his identification details and service number, upon the request of any person regarding any matter that is connected to his being a policeman.
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The obligation to identify oneself under sub-sections (b), (c) or (d) shall not apply in the following cases:
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As soon as those circumstances that prevent the policeman from fulfilling his obligations under this section pass, he shall fulfill the above mentioned provisions without delay.
Recruitment and Human Resources
Question: I want to enlist to the Israel Police. What are the requirements and who should I approach?
Answer:
In principle, the prerequisites of recruitment to the Israel Police are having Israeli citizenship, a minimum of 12 years of study – recognized by the Ministry of Education, a maximal age of 35, having served in the IDF or being lawfully discharged from service, being properly healthy and having passed the appropriate tryouts and security check-ups. The Israel Police does not recruit people who are yet to specialize in their academic profession, but only after they pass the exams in the appropriate association (lawyers, accountants, etc). A person who wants to enlist must send detailed curriculum vitae to the recruiting center near his place of residence, and his suitability shall be examined.
Service to the Public
Question: How can I find out if a stay-of-exit order was issued against me?
Answer:
You should fax a copy of your identity card or passport to 02-5429115, wait a few minutes and then call 02-5309392 to receive an answer.
Question: I am an Israeli citizen that resides overseas and in need of various formal certificates, such as: certificates of good character / Nonexistence of a criminal record / driving sheet. Who should I approach?
Answer:
You should approach the Israeli Consulate in your country of stay. Your application will be referred by the Consulate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, which in turn will refer it to the National Police Headquarters for revisal (Tel: 02-5309798/9). After due treatment, the certificate shall be sent back via the same route to the sending Israeli Consulate. If the applicant for a certificate is an organization, the certificate shall be sent directly back to that organization about three weeks following the application’s submission.
Question: I would like to receive information from the Police regarding its activity, statistics, etc.
Answer:
You may request this type of information without being obliged to explain the reasons for your request, and the Supervisor on the Freedom of Information must reply in accordance with the provisions of the law. A fee is charged for any material supplied. If you wish to obtain information from the Israel Police., it is recommended to visit its website, and if things are still not clear – you may apply in writing – no explanation required – to the following address:
The Supervisor on the Freedom of Information
The National Israel Police Headquarters
Jerusalem 91906
Tel: 02-5428270, Fax: 02-5428269
Email: tlunot@police.gov.il
Freedom of Information Law
About the Law
The law, which took effect on May 1999, states that every Israeli citizen or resident is entitled to obtain information from a public authority, in accordance with the provisions of the law.
The law entitles Israeli citizens to obtain information from the police regarding its activity, statistics, and more.
The applicant may submit any request for this type of information, without being obliged to explain the reasons for his request, and the Supervisor on the Freedom of Information must reply in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Question: How can I review my relevant criminal information?
Answer:
Approach a police station and bring with you a revenue stamp (30 NIS worth) and an identity card. Ask to review your relevant criminal information. You will be asked to fill out an application form in the police station. You are entitled to receive two types of printouts:
· A criminal record printout, which includes convictions and other judicial decisionsthat concern you (it does not include information regarding convictions and other judicial decisions that exceeded their deletion period).
· A criminal information printout – information from the crime register and police records. This printout contains the following types of information:
o Information regarding convictions and other judicial decisions (including information regarding convictions and other judicial decisions that were deleted).
o Information regarding pending investigation files and trials – information regarding closed investigation files.
Obtaining criminal record information
Reviewing Criminal Information
How can I review criminal information that is administered under my name by the Police?
· You should approach a police station, bring with you a revenue stamp and your identity card, and ask to review your relevant criminal information.
A foreign resident or citizen may only identify himself using a valid passport.
· In the police station you will be asked to fill out an application form.
· You will receive a printout containing police-record information in four subjects:
1. Registration details from the crimes register, as specified in section 2 of the Crimes Register and Rehabilitation of Offenders Law, 5741-1981 (hereafter – “the Law”): Information regarding convictions and other judicial decisions, except those that exceeded their deletion period.
2. Police record: Pending trials and investigations (MABAD files).
3. Police record and crimes register: Closed investigation files (police record), and convictions that exceeded their deletion period or that were pardoned by the president (crimes register).
4. Police record: Closed non-prosecuted files.
The criminal information printout – clarifications to the public:
· Under the Law, the criminal information record, which is issued to civilians by the police, is only to be reviewed by the person to whom the information refers. The printout allows a person to have knowledge of his record and to act for the correction of mistakes, if such occurred.
· A body which is entitled under the Law to obtain information, for employment or other purposes shall receive it directly from the Israel Police, subject to the restrictions that are stated in the Law. A person should not be required to present his criminal information printout for any purpose whatsoever, including employment or admission-to-settlement purposes. This prohibition applies to every type of body, including governmental bodies, governmental companies and private employers.
· The Law states that the criminal information is privileged, and that any attempt to obtain such information from the crimes register, whether directly or indirectly, is considered as a criminal offence.
Any person violating the provisions of this Law shall be liable to prosecution.
It should be emphasized that the consent to impart this information does not serve in any way as exemption from criminal liability.
A criminal information printout is not provided to employers, but only to the person to whom the information refers!
Your new employer demanded that you present him with your criminal information printout as a condition for your employment?
· His demand is illegal. Under the Law, this type of information is given directly by the police to those bodies that are lawfully entitled to receive it, and not by the person to whom the information refers.
The sole purpose of the printout is to be reviewed by the person to whom the information refers, so he can have knowledge of his record and act for the correction of mistakes, if such occurred.
· The Police and the Ministry of Justice receive many appeals from civilians and from various organizations, referring to the fact that private employers and different bodies – which are not lawfully entitled to receive criminal information – abuse the rights of individuals to receive a criminal information printout, and require the provision of such printouts as a pre-requisite for employment or admission-to-settlements. In addition, there are certain public bodies that are lawfully entitled to receive criminal information and yet they obtain this information directly from people, and as a result – they receive more information than they are lawfully entitled to obtain. Such bodies allegedly violate section 22 of the Law and commit an indictable criminal offence. It should be emphasized that the consent to divulge this information does not exempt the one receiving the information from criminal liability.
· This is the place to emphasize that private employers usually don’t understand the differences between the different types of records, and as a result exercise poor judgment which unjustifiably harms job applicants.
This phenomenon violates the balances that are included in the Law between the needs of such bodies to receive criminal information and between the rehabilitation of offenders. The reality is that many citizens might not be able to find a job or might get fired due to minor offenses which were committed sometimes more than 30 years ago, while they were minors.
· This issue was lately scrutinized by the Ministry of Justice and the police, and it was decided to change the format of the criminal information printout, in a way that will not enable unauthorized elements to receive criminal information through the person to whom the information refers.
· According to the new format, a person who has no criminal record whatsoever shall receive only the first page of the printout, which only contains his personal details and an introductory notice.
This new format enables a person having a criminal record to provide his employer or any other element with only the first page of the new printout, which contains no reference to his criminal record.
The recipient of the printout cannot know whether he is facing a person with no criminal record at all or whether this person actually has a criminal record but he chose to present only the opening page.
· In 2007, a criminal case was opened against a security officer in one of the country’s well-known marketing chains, after he illicitly required a woman worker to provide him with her criminal information printout. The woman was a single mother against whom a criminal case was opened when she was a minor – 13 years of age - and later closed. The worker was publicly humiliated and fired due to this record. It was decided, following a hearing that was held in the Ministry of Justice, that the security officer and his supervisors violated section 22 of the Law. The case against these suspects was eventually closed due to lack of interest to the public, after they were warned in writing not to commit such offenses in the future. An indictment was not filed due to the non-enforcement policy that exists until today.
· The Ministry of Justice decided that the Israel Police shall open an investigation against employers that obtain this printout directly from people. When the enforcement of such offenses will commence, it shall be announced in the media. Following such an announcement, cases will be opened and indictments filed against employers.
To receive an application form for a non-existence of criminal record / pending cases certificate (certificate of good character):
· In Hebrew/Arabic
· In Hebrew/English
The Israel Police and the Community
Question: How can I volunteer to the civil guard?
Answer:
The civil guard is Israel’s largest volunteering organization, with more than 70,000 volunteers. Some of them – the security civil guard volunteers – are mainly engaged in the prevention of terror acts and crimes (a minimum of 4 activity hours per month), and others – the volunteers in the specialized units – are divided into various sectors (traffic, patrol, detective work, border guard, etc) and professionally assist the police forces (a minimum of 8 consecutive hours of activity per month or, alternatively, 12 activity hours in total).
Courses of Volunteering
Specialized Volunteering units (Yatam)
Civil Guard - Security
The Civil Guard Activity within the Community
Specialized Volunteering Units (Yatam)
By volunteering to the specialized units, one can engage in a wide array of positions, under the professional police units. The volunteers undergo a basic vocational training and specific job trainings.
A volunteer in a special unit is required to serve a minimum of 8 consecutive hours of activity per month, or alternatively a minimum of 12 hours a month in total. The basic training is consisted of additional 45 hours. In most units the activity is carried out in police uniform.
Civil guard - duty officers
Assistance in the operation of police stations’ log books and command center (“100”), directing people who approach the station and answering telephone calls.
Civil guard - bomb disposal expert assistants
The volunteers accompany police bomb disposal experts and help them to enclose areas and keep people away from the site of the event, until the suspicious object is inspected and handled.
Civil Guard - marine policing
Assistance to the marine policing forces through the patrol, policing, search and rescue along the public beaches and harborages in the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Galilee and the bay of Eilat. The unit’s volunteers are required to have a boat-sailing license (“Meshit Sira”), in accordance with the Ports Regulations, and to undergo further training in vessel operation.
Traffic control sector
The traffic civil guard volunteers assist in the enforcement of traffic laws, directing traffic, providing first aid treatment to accident casualties and providing information to drivers and pedestrians regarding accident prevention, within an urban or an inter-city framework. It is possible to volunteer to both urban and inter-city traffic units.
The border guard sector
The border-guard uniform-wearing volunteers, who are residents of the border areas and the rural sector, patrol in jeeps in order to prevent terror acts and reduce the scope of agricultural and property thefts.
Civil guard - rescue
The rescue units are trained to locate, rescue, provide medical treatment and evacuate hikers, students, civilians, tourists and soldiers that got lost under rough terrain conditions, found themselves in different dangerous situations, got injured during a certain calamity or natural disaster, while hiking or during the course of any other activity.
Civil guard - divers
The volunteers are divers with an experience of at least 50 dives and a “two star” level minimal prerequisite. They locate missing people and incriminating evidence inside bodies of water.
Civil guard – look-outs
Observation and peripheral security operations, together with the rest of the armed forces, during pre-planned official state events and mass events.
Civil Guard – Security
This framework includes approximately 30,000 volunteers.
A volunteer to the civil guard security is required to dedicate at least 4 hours of activity per month, in addition to his basic and specific job trainings.
The volunteers operate without police uniform, having unique identification characteristics (vests, special badges and civil guard volunteer certificates). There are two types of civil guard security units: security units and support units.
Security – volunteers within this framework operate in their places of residence, through operation bases or neighborhood / settlement guards. They are mainly engaged in the prevention of terror acts and crimes, by operating patrols and manning road blocks. The patrols are either on foot or in a private or a police vehicle (those who wish to drive a police vehicle should hold a police-vehicle driving license. In order to acquire such a license, one should have a valid civilian driving license and successfully pass a practical license test).
Support – During the course of the last few years, the civil guard support units’ scope of operation has expanded, and many new units were created as a response to the emerging operational needs. These diversified units include, among other things: jeeps, bicycles, ATV’s, horsemen, dentists, disaster victim identification (ZAKA), etc.
Civil Guard Activity within the Community
Providing information
Giving lectures and guidance and distributing explanatory material about self-protection and preventive conduct, in different community organizations (youth culture centers, “Vaád Shchunot”, centers for the elderly and schools);
Assisting the elderly / the “Barak” initiative
Escorting elderly people to the postal bank to collect their social security pension (to protect them from robbery), escorting elderly people to community activities that are carried out in the centers for the elderly, house calls, inspecting safety aids and maintaining security measures in elderly people’s houses, marking of property, keeping contact through the telephone, distributing information sheets regarding home-safety, street-safety and road-safety, and conducting preventive patrols in neighborhoods where many elderly people live (to enhance their sense of security and for preventive purposes), etc.
Property trustees
Carrying out property marking operations, which make it possible for the police to quickly identify stolen or seized property and return it to its rightful owners.
Assisting crime victims
The civil guard volunteers, who are trained in various fields (domestic violence, property offenses), contact the crime victim (with his/her consent, given to the police in advance) and accompany him/her through his/her process of rehabilitation and treatment by professional elements.
Part of the civil guard activity within the community is carried out by teenagers as well.
Joining the Civil Guard
Joining form
The form that needs to be filled out in order to join the civil guard (form 6012) is a preliminary personal details form, which serve as a basis for volunteer registration. You can print an empty form at home, fill it out by hand and deliver it to the nearest civil guard unit or to the unit in which you wish to operate.
The process of joining
Besides from a person’s wish to contribute to his community and to volunteer, the civil guard volunteer takes upon himself a big responsibility as well, due to the fact that he carries a weapon and has certain police powers. In view of that, the volunteer recruitment process is consisted of few stages that are intended to ensure that the volunteer can stand up to the responsibility that is given to him.
The recruitment procedure
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Filling in the details of the civil-guard-volunteeringapplicant – the applicant fills his personal details into the civil guard joining form and asked to sign a medical secrecy waiver form, in order to obtain an approval to carry a firearm from the Ministry of Health (as required from any firearm license applicant). In addition, the applicant is required to sign a health declaration and present a doctor’s statement, testifying about his heath condition and medical fitness.
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Obtaining an approval from the crimes register– the volunteer can start operating only after it is verified that he has a clean criminal sheet (as required from any firearm license applicant).
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Declaration of allegiance and obtaining a temporary designation certificate – upon completion of the registration and verification of the volunteer’s personal details, a declaration of allegiance ceremony is held. The ceremony includes a talk about the essence of the civil guard and the volunteer’s commitment to the organization, an explanation of the volunteer’s duties and rights, and a reading and signing of the allegiance declaration. Following the signing, the volunteer receives a temporary designation certificate.
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Training – following the declaration of allegiance, the volunteer undergoes a general basic training and an elementary training in firearm operation, including a preliminary shooting practice.
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Preliminary activity within the civil guard framework– at this stage, volunteers operate without firearms. In order to receive a permanent designation certificate, the applicant is required to participate in at least two civil guard activities.
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Receiving a permanent designation certificate and the status of a regular civil guard member.
Investigations and Intelligence
Question: Is it possible to open an investigation following an appeal made through the Israel Police website?
Answer:
The submission of a complaint through the website or through fax, cannot serve as a substitute for filing a complaint in the police station, and it cannot lead to the opening of an investigation. Any citizen complaint must be received by the police (in the police station). After a complaint is filed, the relevant investigating element shall decide – according to the complaint’s circumstances – whether to open an investigation, to archive the complaint or to pass it on for treatment by any other element.
Note that any information raising a suspicion of a criminal offense will be examined and considered by the police, and it shall be treated in accordance with the list of priorities of the police units that handle the relevant field. The decision whether to open an investigation or to handle the information that was received differently shall be done according to the Israel Police customary norms.
The transmission of information through this website cannot substitute the filing of a complaint in a police station or in the department for the investigation of police misconduct – according to the case.
Anonymous information is usually given low reliability and low preference.
The police is authorized to approach the person who gave the information and ask for additional details.
Question: Does the crimes register include military court convictions?
Answer:
A military court conviction under certain articles of the “Military Justice Law” is eligible for inclusion in the crimes register, including drug-related offenses, in accordance with the Crimes Register and Rehabilitation of Offenders Law 5741-1981.
Question: I am searching for a missing relative overseas. What can I do?
Answer:
You should submit an official application to the Israel Police through the Israeli embassy in the relevant foreign country. The application should include as many known details as possible: place of residence, full name, work place, names of friends and relatives, medical documents – if any (dental and other x-rays) and address, as well as the applicant’s complete details. The applicant is to be updated about any progress through the embassy. The Israel Police does not open an investigation following an application that is made through its website. The missing person’s family must submit an official application to the local police in its place of residence abroad. The application will be delivered to the Interpol of that foreign country, which will in turn transfer it to the Israel Police.
Question: I want to find out details regarding a certain person. Am I allowed to do so?
Answer:
In accordance with the Protection of Privacy Law, the Israel Police is not authorized to impart information it holds regarding a certain person to anyone other then him.
Question: I suspect that a certain person committed a criminal offense overseas. Who should I approach?
Answer:
The Israel Police is a member of the Interpol. In any case of criminal offense suspicion overseas, the applicant should file a complaint to the police in his country of residence, which in turn shall decide – according to its procedures – whether to submit an official application for information and details to the Israel Police, through the international Interpol.
Weapons, Knives, Pocketknives
Question: Is it allowed to bring into Israel a self-defense shocker?
Answer:
The authority to approve the importation of such a product lies in the hands of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In general, the Ministry of the Interior holds the authority over the importation of weapons, and the role of the police is only to recommend the provision of firearms’ licenses.
Question: Is it allowed to use a toy rifle?
Answer:
As far as toy rifles are concerned, the determining variable is the force of the rifle’s mechanism. As long as it has a weak force and it is different than “the real thing”, it is allowed. It is prohibited to bring into Israel toy-weapons that look like real weapons, and any such item is confiscated.
Question: Do I need a license for holding an air rifle?
Answer: Yes. In Israel you need a license, which is issued by the Ministry of the Interior under its own criteria.
Question: How can I get rid of a gun I hold under license, of which I am no longer interested?
Answer:
You have two possibilities:
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Sell the gun and then, after the buyer receives his license, your license will be automatically revoked.
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Sign a waiver on the gun in a police station. The weapon and the license will be taken from you.
Question: Who is entitled to issue a firearms license and which is the competent body in firearm licensing?
Answer:
Under common criteria, one may obtain a firearms license at a minimum age of 21 only. The license issuance and handling is under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior.
Question: I am going abroad and it is stated on my firearms license that I need to have my weapon deposited while I’m outside Israel. Who should I approach?
Answer:
If you leave Israel for a period of less than one year, you can deposit your weapon with an arm dealer. If you leave for more than a year, then your license is due for expiration and you should deposit your weapon in a police station.
Question: I often go on nature hikes and carry with me a professional pocketknife that I use when I travel. I also use it in my home for different work activities. Actually, I almost always carry and use this pocketknife. Am I allowed by law to carry a knife or a pocketknife?
Answer:
The law (Penalty Law 5737-1977 (Section 186)) prohibits any person – and not only minors – to hold a knife outside his home or premises, unless it can be proven that the knife is held for a legitimate cause. Anyone violating this law is liable to five years of incarceration.
A knife is defined by the law (section 184) as “a bladed tool, or any other tool capable of stabbing or cutting”, and a pocketknife is defined there as “a folding knife that the maximal length of its blade is 10cm, and that cannot be turned – by using a spring or any other means – into a knife with a permanent blade”.
For the matter of “proving legitimate cause” – it means that the holder of the knife needs to prove legitimate cause after he is already indicted. However, such proof does not prevent his indictment in the first place. The meaning of “legitimate cause” is that the holder does not hold the knife for the purpose of committing a certain offense, and moreover – that he holds the knife innocently and for a cause that justifies the holding of the knife despite the general ban.
The difference between a pocketknife and a knife is that in the case of a knife – the burden of proof lies upon the holder of the knife, while in the case of a pocketknife (which responds to the above definition of “pocketknife”) – the presumption is that it is held legitimately, thus the burden of proof lies upon the prosecution and it will be the one that needs to prove that the pocketknife was not held for a legitimate cause.
However, section 186 of the Law restricts this presumption and prevents its application in respect of pocketknives that are held inside – or in the vicinity of -educational institutes and the places that are specified below (according to the Second Schedule to the Law).
Below is the list of places (the Minister of Internal Security may issue an order that modifies this list, in order to safeguard the public’s safety and under the approval of the Knesset’s Legislation and Law Committee):
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Educational institutions: Kindergartens, elementary schools, Talmud Torah schools, junior high schools, high schools, complementary educational institutions, summer camps, youth cultural and sports centers, boarding schools, higher education institutes and any other institute that provides education.
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Dining establishments: restaurants, coffee houses, pubs, etc.
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Clubs or discotheques.
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Places hosting machine games, billiard, cards, dice, etc.
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Sports grounds, stadiums and any other place hosting sports games.
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Places hosting theatre shows, cinema, music, dance, etc.
In all these places, the burden of proof lies upon the holder of either a knife or a pocketknife, and pre-proof indictment will be possible anyway, even in the case of a pocketknife.
We therefore recommend to refrain from carrying even a pocketknife on a regular basis, outside the premises of one’s home, and to carry it only when it is appropriately justified, as aforesaid, in spite of the general prohibition.
Communications Issues
Question: How do the police handle pirate radio stations?
Answer:
The Israel Police operates against pirate radio stations and shuts down dozens of such station each and every year, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications. The Israel Police and the state advocacy also commit pirate radio operators for trial. In one of the cases, a pirate radio operator was even sentenced to 8 months of active prison term.
Issues under the Responsibility of Other Bodies
Question: Is the “Green Police” part of the Israel Police?
Answer:
The Green Police operates under the supervision and responsibility of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Question: Which is the competent body in the matter of child adoption from foreign countries by Israeli couples?
Answer:
The competent body in Israel for that matter is the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. The Minister of Labor and Welfare determines, in collaboration with the Minister of Justice, the relevant regulations and rules.
Question: In which hands lies the authority in the matter of construction offences?
Answer:
Under the Planning and Construction Law 5725-1965, the planning and construction committees have the power to enforce planning and construction laws and handle all related issues. It is the policy of the Israel Police to transfer complaints about violations of the planning and construction law to the competent authority, with the exception of such cases in which special police intervention is required.
Question: Does the police deal with neighbor quarrels?
Answer:
The Israel Police does not deal with any matter that does not involve the violation of any law. The proper body to approach in this matter is the Association of Better Housing (Haáguda Letarbut Ha’diur), which handles, among other things, mediation and reconciling between neighbors.
Children and Youth
Question: Is it permitted to have a relationship between an 18 year old boy and a 16 year old girl, with the consent of the girl?
Answer:
Under section 346(a) of the Penalty Law, 5737-1977, titled “unlawful consensual sexual intercourse” – a person having sexual intercourse with a minor that reached the age of 16 but has not yet reached the age of 18, “while taking advantage of a relationship of dependence, authority, education or supervision, or by giving a false marriage promise, is liable to five years of incarceration”.
However, it is stated in section 353 to the same law, titled “condition to criminal liability”, that in case of an indictment due to the above mentioned offense, “the defendant would be supported if the age difference between him and the minor is less than three years, and if the act was done with the consent of the minor, as part of an ordinary companion relationship and without the defendant taking any advantage of his status”.
In view of that and to the case in question – consensual sexual intercourse between a 16 year old minor and an 18 year old adult, without any exploitation of the adult’s status, may earn him the above mentioned support in case he is indicted for unlawful consensual sexual intercourse. However, it should be emphasized that the burden of proof still lies on the adult, who will need to prove that he fulfills the above mentioned conditions.
Question: Can a minor file a complaint to the police without being escorted by an adult?
Answer:
A minor may file a complaint without being escorted by his parents or any other adult.
It should be clarified, however, why doesn’t the minor want to involve any adult (parents, a guardian) in the complaint. It might be that the same adult is actually suspected of committing a criminal offense against the minor. In case there is suspicion of criminal acts perpetrated by the parent against the minor, an investigation should be opened without delay and a youth-law social worker should be called in.