It was difficult on Tuesday to find any senior police officers or former commissioners to commend Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan's decision to appoint Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch the country's next top cop. Even if we assume they are all right and it's a bad appointment, it is still hard to argue one thing, which is that in these dog days of summer Hirsch's appointment counts as a breath of fresh air and a new hope for the police, which at the end of the day is still the people's police. Time will tell. Erdan has taken a calculated risk with this decision. He knew the senior officers would criticize it, but in light of the police's tarnished image and the recent scandals that have diminished the public trust, the appointment is liable to be received favorably by the public. The success of the appointment will be determined by its results. After all, the "minister of mistakes" doesn't abide by the police's schedule; he always shows up at the time and place he is least wanted, and we all know that when mistakes happen the police is caught with its pants down. Those preaching against the appointment believe it represents a lack of respect for the senior officer cadre and a misunderstanding of the police's job. The supporters of the appointment point to the current state of disrepair and say it developed under previous commissioners. The truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle. Upon entering office, Erdan was exposed to scheming from within the organization and was handed a damning report in which presiding superintendents claim the police not only suffers from a personnel problem, but also from an abysmal ethical problem. This was evidenced in the report produced by the inquiry commission tasked with investigating the police's failure to secure the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem, which appeared to be a blatant attempt by the commission to excuse and cover up the police's mistakes. The report served as the straw that broke Erdan's back, leading him to look outside the system for the next commissioner. What cannot be questioned is that the police's greatest need right now is for a commissioner with an analytical mind who will inject the organization with innovative ideas and a new approach, who will extract the police from the slumber in which it is mired, and uproot the prevalent conservative way of thinking. For this to occur, sensitivities and personal ambitions must now be put aside for the sake of the system, because a weak system also hurts the individuals inside it. The test for the senior officer staff, now that the decision has been made, is to relay the following message to their subordinates: Despite everything, the police force operates within a democracy, and in a democracy those who are charged with upholding the laws -- are expected to respect it.
Erdan lost faith in the police
מערכת ישראל היום
מערכת "ישראל היום“ מפיקה ומעדכנת תכנים חדשותיים, מבזקים ופרשנויות לאורך כל שעות היממה. התוכן נערך בקפדנות, נבדק עובדתית ומוגש לציבור מתוך האמונה שהקוראים ראויים לעיתונות טובה יותר - אמינה, אובייקטיבית ועניינית.
