Israeli Legislation.com
OrdinanceCriminal Law

Police Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971

פקודת המשטרה [נוסח חדש], תשל"א-1971

Published: 1971-03-11Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-08-11 · Last amended 2026-07-28✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
Premium
Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Chapter III: Recruitment, Discharge and Responsibility for Property

Period of service§

11.

Every person wishing to become a member of Israel Police shall undergo a medical examination, and upon approval of his recruitment shall be recruited for a period of five years.

Probationary period§

12.

During the first twenty-four months the recruit shall serve on probation and shall be required to undergo a training course; if during the probationary period it is found that he is unsuitable for his duties or that it is not likely that he will be efficient, the Inspector General may order his discharge from service, and upon so ordering — the recruit shall cease to be a member of Israel Police and shall have no claim against it.

Recruit's declaration§

13.
(a)Every person recruited under this Ordinance shall sign a recruit's declaration, in the prescribed form, before a senior police officer who shall certify it with his signature.
(b)Every person who wilfully gives a false answer to any of the questions in the recruit's declaration is liable to imprisonment for six months and dismissal from service.

Oath of allegiance§

14.

A police officer of the rank of Sub-Inspector and above shall, upon appointment, take an oath of allegiance before the Inspector General in the prescribed form.

Police officer always on duty§

15.

A police officer, when in Israel, shall be deemed, for every purpose under this Ordinance, to be always on duty, and may at all times be employed anywhere in Israel.

Police officer to engage in his duties only§

16.

A police officer shall not engage in any work or occupation other than his duties under this Ordinance, unless the Inspector General has expressly permitted him to do so in writing.

Extension of period of service§

17.
(a)The Inspector General may extend the period of service of a police officer for additional periods of service, each of which shall not exceed five years.
(b)Where a police officer has completed a period of twenty years of service, the Inspector General may extend his period of service for an additional period of indefinite duration.
(c)Extension of a police officer's period of service under this section shall be effected upon the application of the police officer submitted to the Inspector General, in respect of each additional period of service, during the seventh month before the expiry of his period of service.
(d)The Inspector General shall notify the police officer of his decision under this section within sixty days of the date of submission of an application as referred to in subsection (c); however, in special cases, for reasons that shall be recorded, the Inspector General may notify his decision as aforesaid up to the expiry of ninety days from the date of submission of the application.

Resignation of a police officer§

18.
(a)A police officer shall not resign from service unless he has given the Inspector General three months' prior notice thereof; if he has not done so — he shall be regarded as absent from service without leave.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the Inspector General may, at the request of a police officer, permit him to leave service even if three months have not elapsed from the date of giving notice.

Extension of service in an emergency§

19.
(a)The Minister may direct by Order to detain, for a period which in his opinion constitutes an emergency, any police officer, or any other class or category of police officers, notwithstanding the expiry of their period of service, and to extend their service for the period of the emergency.
(b)The service of a police officer by virtue of such an Order shall be regarded as part of the period of engagement and accordingly the provisions of the engagement shall apply — except for the provisions fixing its period — and the provisions of this Ordinance shall apply.

Discharge on health grounds§

20.

A police officer may be discharged from service during the period of engagement if a medical board has determined that he is no longer fit for service on mental or physical grounds.

Authority of the Minister§

21.

Nothing stated in this Ordinance or in the Police Law shall derogate from the authority of the Minister to dismiss a police officer at any time he sees fit.

Financial responsibility of police officers§

22.

A police officer shall be responsible for public moneys entrusted to his care or that have come into his possession; and the weapons, ammunition, equipment, clothing and stores issued for the use of the police under his command or for his own use shall be charged to his account, and he shall be responsible for them to the Inspector General in the event that they are lost, damaged or destroyed, unless it can be proved to the satisfaction of the Inspector General that this occurred by reason of an unavoidable accident, by reason of theft not attributable to negligence on his part, or by reason of the actual performance of his duty.

Person ceasing to be a police officer to return his equipment§

23.

A person who has ceased to be a police officer shall immediately return all weapons, clothing and other necessaries supplied to him for the performance of his duties; if he has not done so, he is liable to a fine of 300 liras; if he has wilfully or by criminal negligence destroyed or disposed of any such article, he is liable to such fine and to imprisonment for three months.

Making good damage to property§

24.

A police officer who has caused damage to or lost any weapon, clothing or other State property may have deducted from his pay an amount sufficient to cover the expenses of repairing the damage or replacing the lost item.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Chapter III-A: Fitness for Duty

Purposes — Chapter III-A§

24a.

This Chapter is intended to regulate fitness-for-duty examinations for candidates for positions in Israel Police and for persons holding positions in it, for the purpose of ensuring the maintenance of integrity and proper functioning of the Police and strengthening public confidence in the Police, with the aim of protecting public safety and security, all in a manner that maximally preserves the privacy of those examined.

Definitions — Chapter III-A§

24b.

In this Chapter —

"fitness-for-duty examination" — an examination for the purpose of assessing fitness for duty, including such an examination that includes a polygraph test in accordance with section 24e;

"fitness for duty" — the fitness of a candidate for a position or of a person holding a position, for the classification of a position;

"examination material" — material collected about an examinee in a fitness-for-duty examination, comprising one of the following:

(1)information provided by the examinee himself;
(2)information about the examinee provided by another examinee in the course of a fitness-for-duty examination conducted for that other examinee;
(3)findings of tests in which the examinee participated, including a polygraph test;

"classification of a position" — the determination of the sensitivity level of a position, derived, inter alia, from the type of information and matters with which the holder of the position deals, from the seniority of the rank of the holder of the position, and also from the risks arising from the possibility of exploiting the position for the purpose of causing harm to public safety and security or of undermining public confidence in the Police;

"position" — a position in the Police, including an office therein, appointment to which is made by the Minister, the Inspector General or a person empowered by the Inspector General for that purpose.

Duty of fitness for duty§

24c.

No person shall be appointed to a position or hold a position, except subject to the condition that he undergoes a fitness-for-duty examination in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, and that such examination finds that he is fit for that position.

Fitness-for-duty examination§

24d.

A fitness-for-duty examination shall be conducted in accordance with the classification level of the position in respect of which fitness is being assessed, and in a manner that does not infringe, to an extent exceeding what is required, the privacy of the examinee, all in accordance with the Police Instructions under section 24l.

Conduct of a fitness-for-duty examination including use of a polygraph§

24e.
(a)A fitness-for-duty examination including use of a polygraph shall be conducted in one of the following cases:
(1)examination of a candidate for a position listed in Part 1 of the Third Schedule;
(2)examination of a holder of a position listed in Part 2 of the Third Schedule, once every five years, subject to the Police Instructions under section 24l(a)(4);
(3)examination of a candidate for a position or a holder of a position, even if not listed in the Third Schedule — if the Committee for Fitness-for-Duty Examination and Use of a Polygraph within the meaning of section 24f (in this Chapter — the Committee) was satisfied, on the basis of information presented before it, that there is a substantial concern regarding the unsuitability of the candidate for the position or the holder of the position for the classification level of the position, that his continued holding of the position may cause harm to public safety and security or impair public confidence in the Police, and that the polygraph examination is necessary for the purpose of assessing his fitness for the position, provided that all other possible fitness-for-duty examinations required for the purpose of clarifying the said substantial concern have been carried out in respect of the examinee.
(b)A polygraph examination under subsection (a) shall be conducted only for the following purposes:
(1)detection and prevention of serious criminal offences, the commission of which is liable to cause significant harm to the functioning of the Police or to impair public confidence in the Police;
(2)detection and prevention of acts that infringe the standard of integrity required of a police officer, the commission of which is liable to cause significant harm to the functioning of the Police or to cause serious impairment of public confidence in the Police.

The Committee for Fitness-for-Duty Examination and Use of a Polygraph§

24f.
(a)A decision to conduct a polygraph examination under section 24e(a)(3) shall be reasoned and in writing, and shall be given by a committee whose members are:
(1)the Inspector General or his deputy;
(2)the Legal Adviser of Israel Police;
(3)the Head of the Disciplinary Department of Israel Police.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), if the Inspector General is of the opinion that a member of the Committee listed in paragraph (2) or (3) of that subsection is prevented from participating in a particular deliberation, including by reason of a conflict of interests, he may replace that member, for the purpose of that deliberation, with the deputy of that Committee member or with another senior police officer from his unit, and in special circumstances — with another senior police officer who is a lawyer.

Professional directives for conducting a polygraph examination§

24g.

The Inspector General shall prescribe, in a procedure, detailed professional directives regarding the manner of conducting a polygraph examination under this Chapter.

Appeal against a decision regarding unfitness for duty§

24h.

A person who considers himself aggrieved by a decision regarding his unfitness for a position is entitled to appeal against the decision before the Inspector General or before a senior police officer whom he has authorised for that purpose.

Confidentiality of examination material§

24i.
(a)Examination material shall be confidential from every person, and its disclosure or publication shall be prohibited.
(b)Notwithstanding any law —
(1)examination material shall not be admitted as evidence in a trial, except for examination material relating solely to the examinee that was submitted by him in judicial proceedings on account of a decision made in his matter;
(2)a holder of a position shall not be brought before a disciplinary tribunal on the basis of examination material and its findings, except for information transferred in accordance with the provisions of the proviso to section 24j(3)(a); however, nothing in the provisions of this paragraph shall prevent the authority competent therefor under any law from making any administrative decision within its power in respect of a holder of a position.

Exceptions to the confidentiality of examination material§

24j.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 24i, examination material or an extract thereof shall be transferred to each of those listed in the paragraphs below under the conditions detailed therein, to the minimum extent required for the purpose of the objective referred to therein:

(1)entities within Israel Police as detailed below, for whom the examination material is required for the purpose of making a decision regarding the fitness for duty of the examinee or for the purpose of making an administrative decision in his matter as referred to in the proviso to section 24i(b)(2):
(a)the Committee;
(b)the Inspector General;
(c)the Head of the Human Resources Division;
(d)the commander of the district or the head of the division to which the examinee is subordinate, or to which he would be subordinate in the position for which he is a candidate;
(2)the Minister or an authorised entity in the Ministry of Public Security as detailed below — if the examination material is required for the purpose of the Minister making a decision, in accordance with his authority under any law, regarding the appointment, suspension or dismissal of the examinee:
(a)the Director General of the Ministry of Public Security;
(b)the Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Public Security whom the Minister has authorised for that purpose;
(c)the Legal Adviser of the Ministry of Public Security;
(3)
(a)a body empowered to decide on the opening of an investigation — if in the course of a fitness-for-duty examination a suspicion arose of the commission of a criminal offence constituting a felony, or if in the course of such a fitness-for-duty examination a suspicion arose of the commission of a criminal offence constituting a misdemeanour and the Inspector General or a senior police officer whom he has authorised for that purpose decided, for reasons to be recorded, to transfer the information to the empowered body; if the empowered body decided not to prosecute the examinee in respect of whom the suspicion arose and to transfer the matter of the examinee to disciplinary proceedings, it may transfer the information referred to in this paragraph to the person empowered to bring the examinee before a disciplinary tribunal under the Police Law;
(b)only information relating to the suspicion referred to in this paragraph shall be transferred under the provisions of this paragraph, and the examination material itself shall not be transferred to the empowered entity;
(4)an entity in the General Security Service designated for that purpose by the Head of the General Security Service — if the Inspector General directed the transfer of the examination material, and the examination material is required for the purpose of conducting a security-suitability procedure in accordance with section 7(b)(3) of the General Security Service Law, 5762-2002.

Delivery of examination material to the examinee§

24k.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 24i, the Inspector General shall transfer examination material to the examinee if the examinee so requested for the purpose of filing an appeal regarding his unfitness for a position or for the purpose of applying to a court in respect of an administrative decision made in his matter on the basis of the examination material, subject to the following provisions:

(a)only examination material relating solely to the examinee, on the basis of which the decision regarding his unfitness for a position or the said administrative decision was made, shall be transferred to the examinee;
(b)examination material that was provided about the examinee by another examinee in a fitness-for-duty examination, or examination material whose disclosure may disrupt the proper functioning of Israel Police or its ability to carry out its functions, shall not be transferred to the examinee; however, the Inspector General shall transfer to the examinee an extract of such examination material, to the minimum extent required for the purposes referred to in this section.

Police Instructions regarding fitness for duty§

24l.
(a)Provisions on the matters detailed below shall be prescribed in the Police Instructions with the approval of the Minister of Justice, after the extent of the infringement of privacy involved has been considered:
(1)the classification levels of positions;
(2)the subjects that may be examined in a fitness-for-duty examination, and in particular in an examination including use of a polygraph;
(3)the manner of conducting a fitness-for-duty examination and the measures to be taken in its framework in accordance with the classification levels of positions, including the classification levels of positions in respect of which a polygraph examination may be conducted within the framework of a fitness-for-duty examination;
(4)circumstances in which it shall be possible to defer the conduct of a polygraph examination under section 24e(a)(2);
(5)the unit in the Police that shall be designated to conduct fitness-for-duty examinations and to retain examination material;
(6)the manner in which fitness-for-duty examinations shall be conducted for persons serving in the unit referred to in paragraph (5);
(7)the manner of retaining examination material and the date of its deletion, and types of examination material that shall not be retained; provisions under this paragraph shall also apply to an entity to whom examination material was transferred under the provisions of section 24j;
(8)the entities within the bodies referred to in section 24j(3) to whom examination material shall be transferred in accordance with the provisions of that section and the manner of transferring examination material to them;
(9)the manner of notifying the examinee of the results of his fitness-for-duty examination and the ways of filing an appeal against a decision regarding unfitness for duty;
(10)the ways of delivering examination material to the examinee under section 24k;
(11)circumstances in which there is a bar to conducting a polygraph examination.
(b)Provisions under subsection (a)(2) require the approval of the National Security Committee of the Knesset.

Amendment of the Third Schedule§

24m.

The Minister, with the approval of the National Security Committee of the Knesset, may amend the Third Schedule.

Savings provisions — Chapter III-A§

24n.

The provisions of this Chapter are in addition to the provisions of any law and do not derogate from them, unless expressly provided otherwise.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →
← 1234567 →

Page 3 of 7

Read the entire law on one page — continuous text, no page breaks, plus PDF downloads.