IDI Experts Oppose Allowing Police to Stop and Search without Suspicion
Upholding human rights means police can only search a person when there is solid suspicion. This was the message that Israel Democracy Institute's Professor Mota Kremnitzer and Dr. Amir Fuchs delivered in a policy statement on Nov. 11.
Upholding human rights means police can only search a person when there is solid suspicion. This was the message that Israel Democracy Institute's Professor Mota Kremnitzer and Dr. Amir Fuchs delivered in a policy statement on Nov. 11. The statement, delivered to the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, was meant to inform a discussion on a bill that would let police stop and frisk anyone, even if they aren’t suspected of committing a crime or carrying a weapon. The discussion ended Wednesday with an agreement for further dialogue.
Israeli police already are empowered to search people deemed suspicious. This new law expands that latitude in certain more violence-prone establishments, such as bars, clubs and sporting events, and areas in the immediate vicinity of such businesses.
Kremnitzer and Fuchs say that while the bill might be intended to save lives during the current heightened security situation, they feel the bill is a human rights violation and encroaches on the principles of democracy and individual rights. Kremnitzer and Fuchs explain that the policy would likely be used arbitrarily by police and inevitably lead to unacceptable racial and ethnic profiling – most likely against people of African descent or Arabs.