Israel: Police protocol related to complaints made at police stations, including relevant records; whether a crime victim receives a copy of the complaint; procedures to obtain a copy of a complaint
| Publisher | Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 March 2010 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ISR103376.E |
| Cite as | Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Israel: Police protocol related to complaints made at police stations, including relevant records; whether a crime victim receives a copy of the complaint; procedures to obtain a copy of a complaint, 1 March 2010, ISR103376.E , available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4dde2c232.html [accessed 25 May 2013] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A representative from Yesh Din, a volunteer organization working for "long-term structural improvement in the human rights situation in the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territory]" (Yesh Din n.d.) provided the following information in correspondence with the Research Directorate (15 Feb. 2010).
The Yesh Din Representative stated that a crime victim is "entitled to receive a document approving the fact that a complaint has been registered" (15 Feb. 2010). However, according to the Representative, this document, which is called "A Confirmation of Complaint Filing," is not always provided to complainants (15 Feb. 2010). In terms of the actual complaint, the Representative stated the following:
A victim (complainant) will not receive a copy of the complaint. Only when the investigation is closed with no criminal indictment against suspects, a complainant or a lawyer acting on his behalf may ask to photocopy the investigation file in order to consider an appeal against the decision to close the file. Only then he is in a position to have a copy of his complaint. (15 Feb. 2010)
Yesh Din volunteers have accompanied Palestinian complainants to file reports with the Israeli Police (May 2008, 16). Yesh Din reports that of the 205 investigation files monitored by the volunteer organization, one file was lost (May 2008, 18).
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a retired Israeli Police Officer, who worked for 28 years in the Israeli Security Forces/Police, corroborated that the complainant is not automatically given a copy of the "complaint statement" (Officer 13 Feb. 2010). However, he added that the complainant can request a copy and described the process for doing so as follows:
If the victim wishes for a copy of the complaint/witness statement, then he or she applies to the local CID [Criminal Investigation Division] records to receive a copy. This is a simple procedure where the request for a copy is made in writing. There are no problems receiving copies of the complaints from the Israeli Police. (Officer 13 Feb. 2010)
The retired Israeli Police Officer stated that, after making his or her statement to the police, the complainant is provided with a letter which quotes a police file number (ibid.). The letter will indicate whether or not the police will pursue an investigation (ibid.). The retired Israeli Police Officer also stated that if an investigation is undertaken for a crime of violence, the police will inform the complainant of the results and whether the alleged offender will be prosecuted (ibid.).
Further information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Retired Israeli Police Officer. 13 February 2010. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Yesh Din. 15 February 2010. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
_____. May 2008. Too Little, Too Late: Supervision by the Office of the State Attorney over the Investigation of Offences Committed by Israeli Civilians Against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.
_____. N.d. "Who We Are."
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral souces: a represenative of the Israeli Police, an official from the Embassy of Israel and an researcher with relevant expertise from Northeastern University were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response.
Internet sites, including: Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Freedom House, Government of Israel (Israeli Police Force), Haaretz, Human Rights Watch, Israeli-Palestine Centre for Research and Information (IPCRI), Middle East Research and Information Network (MERIP) World Council of Churches (WCC), Znet.
