Guest Blog: Calling all cars

There's a saying in the Israeli police force that goes something like this; "good things happen to the police only when bad things happen to the country."  A recent upsurge in violent crime, including the barbaric murder of a 59-year-old man enjoying a night out on the beach with his family, has once again brought the Israeli police force under scrutiny.

The police rightly feel that they are the unwanted stepchild of the security apparatus, under-funded and under-manned. Studies indicate that Israel has a lower ratio of police officers to the population than most western countries. Israel relies on over 70,000 volunteers as a way to beef up its ability to fight crime and assist in the war on terror.

As one of those volunteers, I am acutely aware of the lack of manpower. In terms of resources, it's hard to forget the time I was on patrol with a veteran officer and our patrol car wouldn't start. We radioed the station and requested cables so we could try to jump-start the car, but our request was denied because the police station in Modi'in had no jumper cables.

The officer dismissed the idea of flagging down a civilian car for help; he said that it was embarrassing. Thankfully, help came from a private security company that patrols the city, which did have some cables.

Officers frequently commented on the fact that they brought their own equipment to work,  even down to simple items such as batteries for flash lights. Whether it's due to lack of funding or to bureaucracy, there is a lack of patrol cars, radios and other vital equipment. The Modi'in police have one radar gun.

Some say that the police need to be more responsive to local governments. The Israeli police force answers to the national government and not local municipalities. The argument goes that a police department which is independent from the local mayor will be less focused on politics and freer to fight crime.

This leaves mayors with little to no control over policing their streets and keeping the peace. Police chiefs on the other hand answer to regional, district and national commanders.

Thus, police chiefs eager to work their way up and earn promotions concentrate on making their numbers look good. In Modi'in, for example, the number of traffic tickets written by police continues to rise. Despite this, there have been a number of fatal accidents in the city. There is little correlation between tickets written and the safety of the population.

Veteran officers have reported that, in an attempt to pad their statistics, officers leave the city jurisdiction to catch car thieves. Local municipalities have security councils, which receive updates from security personnel and have no oversight power.

Is this recent upsurge in violent crime a fluke or a disturbing trend? And how should the government respond? Whatever the answer, change happens in Israel only after tragedy. If anything good comes out of all this would be the government taking a hard look at the entire public security system with an eye to revamping it.

Unlike in the United States, the answer to beefing up the police force is not at the local Dunkin' Donuts. What police officers really want is something more than a pastry filled with air, but real concrete support.