Top cop slams attempt to bar police from recommending charges against public officials

The Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich criticizes a proposal to prevent the force from recommending the indictment of public officials, saying it is “impossible” for police to complete investigations without doing so.

With the proposal to make the prime minister immune from criminal investigation shelved over coalition disagreements, Likud MKs are now pushing a bill which will keep the police from being able to recommend whether to indict or not at the end of an investigation.

“When we are talking about the decision of the State Prosecution, the police force doesn’t pass on a recommendation as such, but rather summarizes the case presenting whether there is evidence of criminality or not,” Alsheich tells reporters outside a Knesset committee session.

For investigations against public officials, the State Prosecution is tasked with deciding whether to press charges or not, based on the investigation carried out by the police.

“It is impossible to publish the results of the investigation without summarizing it,” Alsheich said bluntly. “I don’t know what this new bill is.”