Knesset Approves Police Internal Investigations Law in Second and Third Readings

The law on the Police Internal Investigations Department, known as Machash, passed its second and third readings in the Knesset overnight Wednesday.

The new law will sever the department from the State Attorney’s Office and place it under the Justice Minister. Under the law, the Police Internal Investigations Department will become an independent body within the Justice Ministry, with its own budget, and will be authorized to investigate and prosecute police officers for criminal offenses, including minor offenses, as well as deal with offenses committed by volunteers in the Israel Police.

The proposal also seeks to establish a new mechanism for appointing the department head through a dedicated selection committee, and to create the post of coordinator for police investigations, who will be empowered to decide disputes between Machash and other investigative and prosecution bodies and, where appropriate, order cases transferred between them. It also proposes separating Machash from the framework of the attorney general’s legal advisory system, so that the department’s prosecutors will be appointed by the department head, and the criminal authorities currently held by the attorney general or the State Attorney’s Office in cases handled by Machash will be transferred to the department head.

In addition, appeals against Machash decisions to close a case will be submitted to the coordinator. According to the proposal, the department will be subject to the general directives of the attorney general and the State Attorney, except when the directives grant authority to an external entity outside the department.

Amendments are also proposed regarding the full civil service status of Machash, and as a result, provisions concerning access by Machash employees to police information systems. Finally, the bill proposes commencement and preparation provisions for implementation, as well as a reporting clause under which the Justice Minister and the National Security Minister will provide the Knesset with periodic reports on the handling of complaints and offenses attributed to police officers and the results of that handling.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Isman opposed the bill. "The proposal will lead to a political takeover of Machash and turn it from a body intended to protect citizens into a tool of the authorities for directing investigations against police officers and steering police conduct according to its needs," the attorney general wrote. She added that "the proposal completely contradicts every public report that dealt with the structure of the law enforcement system or Machash."

The State Attorney said the move increases concern over political interference in police work. In his words: "The benefit of separating Machash from the State Attorney’s Office is limited, while the potential damage to the unit’s independence, to the ability of its head to withstand political pressure, and to its professionalism is extremely significant."