Police plan to add new major general for training spurs criticism

Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen is promoting the establishment of a training division, to begin operating in 2010, but a plan to appoint a major general to head it has sparked criticism at a time when the force is under pressure to cut costs.

A senior police official formerly involved in the project recently slammed the plans, saying there is no justification for appointing a major general to head the division, and that this is merely a way for the commissioner to promote more officers to that rank.

"The police's entire training set-up can continue operating under the human resources department, instead of appointing another senior commander to head it," he said.

In contrast to his predecessor, Moshe Karadi, who sought to reduce the number of police majors general, Cohen announced plans to increase their number. In a briefing for police reporters two weeks ago, Cohen noted that in the past few weeks a new post had been created at - major general rank - head of the Lahav unit, which consolidates all national investigation units.

Irregularly, the unit's chief, Yoav Segalovich, will answer to another officer of the same rank - head of the investigations and intelligence division, Major General Yohanan Danino.

The decision to establish an independent division for police training had the support of Public Security Minister Avi Dichter. It is expected to coordinate, for the first time, all police training bodies. These will also be headquartered under one roof, in a complex to be built in Beit Shemesh.

In recent years the number of police training institutions has grown exponentially: some 20 colleges, schools and training centers are located throughout Israel. While the training department currently operates out of the human resources department, it does not have overall administrative and budgetary responsibility for all educational institutions.

Setting up the new training division is not expected to be costly, since the job slots and institutions already exist. Furthermore, police officials believe the new division will prove cost-effective once the various institutions' bureaucracies are consolidated.