Commenting on recent events, Police Commissioner, Inspector-General David Cohen said, “In the tragic case of the child homicide in Bnei Ayish the policemen acted properly according to the circumstances of the incident. There was no opportunity to take any law enforcement measures in advance. The investigators at the Kiryat Malachi station handled the complaint filed with them one month ago in a professional manner. There are gaps in coordinating with other government ministries and that has to be addressed in the long run in order to prevent, as much as possible, severe incidents from recurring in the future.”
Regarding the arrest of the mayor of Bat Yam and despite recent criticism, the Police Commander lent the investigating unit his support, saying “Every policeman has a set of professional and moral tools at his disposal. The investigation of the Bat Yam Mayor will be put to the test through the evidence, which is the only test.”
The Police Commissioner also addressed the issue of public corruption, saying in recent years the law enforcement system has demonstrated it is unafraid to tackle corruption and that every individual can be subject to investigation, adding that in the case of organized crime, significant gains have been achieved in the past three years. The allocation of resources and means to deal with the problem will continue, based on up-to-date intelligence findings, he said.
At the Forum the Police Commissioner addressed the issue of Israel’s strength as a nation, noting that the social fabric was under various threats from within that, if mishandled, could undermine the basis for existence as a society and threaten Israeli democracy. It suffices, he said, to mention the blight of organized crime, public corruption and the conflicts and rifts liable to erupt in times of crisis.