Research

A Rise in Complaints of Police Violence

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The increase in the number of complaints of police violence submitted to the DIPI over the last year raises serious questions, especially in light of the timing in which the current Government and Minister of National Security took office. This research surveys the trends in complaints of police violence.

Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90

In Israel, two agencies deal with complaints against the police. (1) The Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI), which is part of the Justice Ministry, is empowered to investigate allegations of criminal action for which the statutory penalty is more than a year in prison (along with several other offenses). (2) Several units of the Israel Police also handle certain complaints about police conduct that deviates from the rules.

The response to a Freedom of Information request I submitted to the Ministry of Justice in September 2023 reveals a number of trends with regard to complaints of violent offences of police officers (police violence) submitted to the DIPI.

Complaints of Police Violence received by the DIPI, including the Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Complaints of Police Violence received by the DIPI, from January 2021 to the Inauguration of the Current Government

Complaints of Police Violence received by the DIPI since the Inauguration of the Current Government

The response to a Freedom of Information request I submitted to the Israel Police also reveals a number of trends in relation to complaints against police officers submitted to its public complaints units.

Complaints against Police received by the Police Public Complaints Units, January 2021 to the Inauguration of the Current Government

Complaints against Police received by the Police Public Complaints Units since the Inauguration of the Current Government

Data Spotlight

  • In the first eight months of 2023 there was a 45% increase in the average number of monthly complaints of police violence submitted to the DIPI, as compared to the corresponding period in 2022 (or a rise of 49% relative to the last eight months of 2022).
  • In the first eight months of 2023, the number of complaints of police violence submitted to the DIPI (1,299) was almost the same as for all of 2022 (1,304) or 2021 (1,295). In 2020 there were even fewer such complaints (934).

 

Discussion and Summary

We should be cautious about drawing conclusions based exclusively on data that indicates an increase in the number of complaints submitted. It is possible, for example, that the increase in the number of complaints of violent offences of police officers submitted to the DIPI reflects not an actual increase in violent behavior by officers but an increased in the number of incidents in which citizens and police come into conflict (such as demonstrations).

The long-term trends also demonstrate the need to be cautious here. According to an earlier Freedom of Information (FOI) request I filed, in 2014–2018 there was a 37% decrease in the number of complaints of police brutality submitted to the DIPI (from 1,741 in 2014 to 1,096 in 2018). According to the State Prosecutor’s Office, 1,572 complaints of police violence were submitted in 2019. The new FOI data indicates an increase in such complaints (934 in 2020, 1,295 in 2021, 1,304 in 2022, and 1,299 in the first eight months of 2023). Because the data were received at different times, the difference may reflect a change in the database or the definitions used by the DIPI.

Nevertheless, the increase in the number of complaints of police violence submitted to the DIPI over the last year raises serious questions, especially in light of the timing in which the current Government and Minister of National Security took office. It is important that the police take these figures seriously and investigate the source of the phenomenon, in order to verify that police officers only act in according with the law.