Waves Memorial day 1996 Sharon

  • Issue: April 1996
  • Designer: R. Beckman
  • Stamp size: 40 x 25.7 mm
  • Plate no.: 276
  • Sheet of 15 stamps Tabs: 5
  • Printers: Government Printers
  • Method of printing: Offset

The Israel Police Force was established on May 14, 1948, during the War of Independence and in the last days of the British Mandate in Israel, together with the establishment of the State of Israel.

The first Inspector General was Yehezkel Sahar and the Jewish officers and policemen, who had served under the British Mandate, made up the original, professional nucleus of the Israel Police Force.

At the beginning, the Israel Police Force adopted the organization patterns, administrative and the management methods of the Mandate Police Force, while adjusting them to the Israeli reality. The uniforms, except for the hat and insignia, were the same as those worn by Mandate policemen.

In 1953, the Border Guard Unit was established within the Police Force, with Pinchas Koppel appointed as commander. The purpose of the unit was to combat enemy infiltration over the border and to protect the nation's borders.

During those early years, the national nature of the Israel Police Force as a national, apolitical, dependable police force was determined - a force committed to integrity, dedicated to improving the quality of life for the country's citizens, an integral pan in the community it serves.

The conventional roles of the Police Force are defined in Pars. 3 of the Police Ordinance (new version, 1971). The Ordinance states that "the Israel Police Force will prevent and expose criminal acts, apprehend criminals and bring them to justice, safely secure prisoners, maintain public order and protect the security of both individuals and property".

In 1974, following the Israeli government's decision to hold the Police Force responsible for internal security within the Green Line, the Force was made responsible for additional tasks, target duties were increased and the Civil Guard was established.

The Police Force is headed by a Commissioner of Police, with the rank of Lt. General, who is subordinate to the Minister of Internal Security.

The National Headquarters is composed of 6 Departments: the Dept. of Police and Security; the Dept. of Investigations; the Personnel Dept.; the Dept. for Logistic Support; the Dept. for Planning and Organization and the Civil Guard. The Police Force is divided into six separate districts: the Northern District; the Tel Aviv District; the Central District, the Southern District; the Jerusalem District; and the Judes and Samaria District. Each district is commanded by an officer with the rank of Major- the police in his district.

The Civil Guard presently functions as an integral unit within the Police Force. The Civil Guard provides a framework for the conscription, training and operation of thousands of volunteers who assist in a number of security-related and other police tasks.

The Border Guard is a professional operations corps which functions as an integral part of the Police Force and acts as the spearhead for the force. The corps is composed of conscripted and regular policemen of Jewish, Druze, Circassian, Beduin, Christian and Moslem origin.

Today, the Israeli Police Force employs 24,000 policemen, and readily adapts itself to ever-changing developments, while improving and developing technological resources and varied automated information systems. The Police Force has learned to properly utilize manpower, to develop combat capabilities and to maintain the operational, physical and professional competence of the individual policeman.

Police Monument - Memorial to Fallen Policemen

The Memorial is located at the National Police Academy in Kiryat Ata, near the Israel Police Museum. The cornerstone for the Memorial was laid on August 31, 1988, and the unveilling ceremony was held on June 1, 1992.

The memorial was designed by Architect Yosef Assa, and includes a statue, memorial walls with the names of the fallen policemen, a square for ceremonies and an area for an amphitheater.

The Monument is an environmental statue, which invites visitors to climb up and become an integral part of the environment. The monument is made up of two elements, constructed from reinforced cement and covered in white marble plaster. The two sections are 17 meters high and represent the purity of the law, which the Israel Police Force is dedicated to preserving. The police emblem is engraved at the base of the monument both inside and out. The two sides represent the mutual relationship between the citizen and the policeman. The outside wall houses a porch with a railing, allowing visitors a view of the valley Four cement memorial walls stand in the square next to the monument, with the names of hundreds of fallen policemen engraved on them. In the cornerstone scroll written for the Memorial it is written:

"At this central location, near the National Police Academy, the Israel Police Force remembers its fallen from the day the State was born. The value of maintaining law and order, respect for the individual and the citizen are the core of our fallen brethren's legacy. They were educated with these values, and coming generations of policemen will continue this heritage. Let us remember our friends and march in the light of their image towards a brighter future"

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Memorial day 1996