Municipal policing is a municipal enforcement alignment, established to serve as a deterrent in the field of lifestyle delinquency, violence and anti-social behavior. The alignment is responsible for implementing the goal of the municipal policing and for strengthening the sense of personal security in local municipalities. In addition, municipal policing is also meant to improve the accessibility of the police as well as their responsiveness and the level of service provided to the citizens.
Municipal policing has the potential to create a reform in law enforcement, especially since it conceptualizes the local municipality as a unit of change. In the alignment, the head of the authority determines the policy and the municipal priorities in coordination with the police.
1. The Municipal Police program was established as part of a concept meant to create a significant reform in the activity and the deployment of police forces and communal supervision. The goal of the project is to increase the sense of personal security among the citizens and residents of Israel.
2. The basis of municipal policing is the idea that the head of the authority is the one leading the policing alignment and the community law enforcement. The head of the authority governs a local enforcement committee, which is aimed at outlining the policy regarding the enforcement alignment's area of expertise in the municipal field. Each authority will establish its own enforcement alignment, comprised of a local police station manager, a policing officer, the head of the authority and the head of the inspection division. The role of the committee will be to implement the decisions made by the municipal council and interpret them into work plans.
3. In order to realize the idea, the Israeli government decided to launch a two-year pilot program in 13 local authorities across the country, all of which meet the criteria approved by the government ruling of February 2011. The basis for the concepts allows logic, progression and great equality (as much as possible) between the various sectors, alongside reference to the crime rates and the socio-economic data across the country.
4. Methods of Operation: two forces will be established in each local authority entering into the pilot program: The first is a municipal policing force, which will be comprised of cops headed by a police officer who is directly subjected to the station commander. The force will only operate within the jurisdiction of the municipal authority and only regarding the preapproved fields of operation. Additionally, a community enforcement force, comprised of inspectors designated for this purpose, will be established. Furthermore, equipment and vehicles will be available to these forces.
5. The alignment of forces and resources is determined for each authority according to various criteria, and with coordination of means and manpower between the police and the particular authority. The forces undergo special training, in their respective fields; and at the end of the recruitment and training process, a joint training session is conducted between the municipal policing force and the municipal enforcement force. The forces will work together or separately, depending on the work plans and the requirements dictated by the enforcement committee.