The existence of soldiers ignored by the IDF and the Ministry of National Security: The State Comptroller's report published today (Monday) states that some thirty years after the implementation of the arrangement for integrating compulsory police officers began in 1995, there is a marked discrepancy between the threshold conditions for placing compulsory police officers in the police, as determined by the army, and the needs of the police.
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In addition, it was found that for about 14 years, the ministers of national security did not submit reports to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as required by law, on the number of compulsory service members stationed in the IPS, the positions they fulfill, and the tasks they perform. The comptroller reveals that the IDF places soldiers in compulsory police service who are not suitable for the needs of the police and for operational service within it.
The data of some of the compulsory servants, including their level of Hebrew language proficiency, profile, and level of physical fitness, are so low that it may make it difficult for them to perform the job. The findings of the audit indicate that on an ongoing and systematic basis, there is an inherent and significant incompatibility of the mandatory servants to perform the tasks assigned to them.
For about 14 years, the ministers of national security did not submit reports to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Defense Minister Yoav Galant at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (Archive), photo: Elad Malka, Shahar Yurman Spokesperson for the Minister of Defense
Nevertheless, the mandatory police officers are still assigned to positions that do not match their abilities and characteristics, especially important roles as patrolmen and dispatchers. Some of the mandatory police officers are stationed in police units that are not registered in a security service order, such as the Spokesperson's and Communications Division and technological units, without legal authority, and in various units in the IPS, compulsory service members are stationed in administrative positions, even though the Minister of Defense has not issued an order permitting this as required by law.
Compulsory police and IPS service members are not soldiers for the purposes of the Military Justice Law, and are lawfully policemen or prison guards, respectively, also for the purposes of disciplinary law. The disciplinary rules also allow disciplinary proceedings to be held against anyone who ceases to be a police officer or prison guard after committing the offense. The comptroller's report found that in cases where suspicion arises that a criminal offense has been committed by compulsory servants, the police and the IPS return the suspected perpetrators to the IDF without disciplinary proceedings, even though this is not required by law.
Those serving in the police and the Prison Service are not soldiers for the purposes of the Military Justice Law. Ketziot Prison, Photo: Dudu Greenspan
Thus, between 2022 and 2020, the police returned 84 duty police officers to the IDF, in light of offenses that were transferred to the DIP for investigation, including 68 mandatory Border Police officers and 16 mandatory police officers, and the IPS returned 10 mandatory prison guards to the IDF during the same period for offenses transferred to the MB for interrogation, before deciding whether to indict them in court for the acts attributed to them.
From the date of return of compulsory service members to the IDF, the police and the IPS do not monitor the status and results of the criminal investigation, and do not bring to justice those suspected of committing a disciplinary offense, even after the criminal path has come to an end, even though the rules of disciplinary law allow this. The criticism also revealed that after the return of the compulsory service members to the IDF, no disciplinary action is taken against them in the IDF.
The police and the IPS return the suspected perpetrators to the IDF without disciplinary proceedings. , guard at Gilboa Prison, the subject has nothing to do with the information. Photo: Moshe Shai
The audit revealed that in May 2021, the police commissioner appointed a senior police officer who would be authorized to order tests to detect the use or possession of a dangerous drug among duty Border Police officers – but not the police. It also emerged that the Commissioner of Prisons did not appoint a senior prison guard who would be authorized to order such examinations. Therefore, the Comptroller determines that notwithstanding the provisions of the Military Justice Law, no tests are performed to detect the use of a dangerous drug or possession of a dangerous drug among compulsory police or IPS servants.
Moreover, the audit found that since 2017, IPS doctors, who are obligated by the IDF-IPS treaty to treat mandatory prison guards, do not have access to the essential medical information required for this purpose, and that the interface between the IDF and the IPS is ineffective. The audit also revealed that some of the mandatory police officers serve in police units that do not appear in a security service order, such as in the Spokesperson's and Communications Division and technological units, without legal authority.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The comptroller also examined the treaty between the IDF and the Prison Service, which stipulates that the gender mix of compulsory service members will be 25% women and 75% men. The treaty between the IDF and the police did not specify a gender mix, and the division was made according to agreements between the sides that the mix would be 40% men and 60% women. The audit data show that in both bodies, the number of women serving in compulsory service is higher than the agreed rate agreed upon with the IDF, and the number of men serving in compulsory service is correspondingly low.
In the Prison Service, the average gap between the agreed number of female compulsory servants and their actual number was about 8% higher than agreed, while in the police the average gap between the number of compulsory servants was about 12% higher than agreed. In addition, it was found that in stations in Arab communities or mixed cities, the role of soldiers is not adapted to the challenges faced by these stations, and that most of the mandatory police officers stationed in the district do not meet the operational criteria required to handle incidents under the responsibility of the stations, due to low profile and low operational capacity.
The number of women serving in compulsory service is higher than the agreed rate set with the IDF, Photo: None
"The findings," the comptroller states, "continuously and systematically reveal an inherent and significant incompatibility of the duty police officers to carry out the tasks assigned to them."
Adv. Idan Kaliman, Chairman of the Disabled IDF Organization: "For years we have been crying out about the need for reform and in recent years for its immediate implementation, and have encountered the wheels of bureaucracy in the legislative process, while abandoning the wounded without providing immediate assistance to the existing deficiencies. Now we are shown what a country at war looks like that behaves like a country in a sleepy routine. The huge surge of IDF wounded that is coming before us requires rapid preparations in order to thoroughly correct the depth failures – both in the infrastructure of the Rehabilitation Division and in quick legislation. The government must fulfill its moral and moral obligation to the wounded and pass a government decision in the upcoming session, to implement the reform immediately even before it is passed through legislation – this is the order of the day!"
The IPS said: "The IPS consistently makes sure to train and empower those who serve in the organization, while drawing lessons from past events and learning the needs of those who serve, as reflected in internal organizational surveys, open conversations with commanders and official auditors' reports."
"We emphasize that according to the decision of the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Public Affairs, the recruitment of compulsory service members to the IPS ended in April 2023, and today, female prison guards do not serve in the security wings. We note that by the end of 2024, all compulsory service members in the organization will complete their service."
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