Ombudsman Blames Police for Leak of Investigative Files to Suspect
An Israeli ombudsman ruled that police bear full responsibility for mistakenly handing over classified files to a suspect, criticizing authorities for ungrounded accusations and poor record-keeping.
A man who requested access to investigative materials in a case where he was questioned as a suspect was surprised to find that the police mistakenly handed over videos and photos belonging to an entirely different criminal file.
Despite his claims that he reported the breach immediately upon discovery, the police later accused him of delaying his notification. The Ombudsman for State Representatives in Court, retired judge Menachem Finkelstein, upheld the complaint and ruled that responsibility for the serious lapse lies primarily with the police prosecution branch.
The incident took place at the conditional settlement prosecution branch in the Hof District of the Israel Police Prosecution Division. The applicant, whose investigation file was closed under a conditional settlement agreement, asked to receive a copy of the investigative materials concerning him. However, after the files were copied onto his private USB flash drive, he discovered that alongside the relevant documents, video and photographic files unrelated to his case had been transferred as well.
According to the complainant, immediately after discovering the error, he contacted the prosecution branch to update them on the malfunction, noting that he possessed recordings documenting the conversations. Months later, however, his attorney received a letter from the police claiming that he had delayed reporting the incident.
The complainant questioned how the police, having mistakenly handed over confidential materials belonging to others, failed to conduct a proper inquiry and instead shifted blame onto him. In its response to the ombudsman, the prosecution admitted that extraneous investigative materials were inadvertently transferred, adding that instructions have since been reinforced among all branch personnel.
Ombudsman Criticizes Police Handling and Record-Keeping
Ombudsman Finkelstein rejected the police's attempt to deflect blame, stating that the ultimate responsibility for sorting and classifying investigative materials provided to suspects and third parties rests entirely with the prosecution. He determined that the mishap occurred because the branch forwarded the file to the secretariat for copying without ensuring that all included contents were strictly relevant to the applicant's case.
Furthermore, the ombudsman ruled that the police acknowledged the error with a significant delay of about six months, a failure compounded by the complete absence of proper documentation regarding the citizen's reports. This lack of record-keeping led to unfounded criticism directed at the complainant regarding his conduct.
Finkelstein emphasized that documenting such reports is a legal obligation rather than a mere technicality. Following his findings, the decision was forwarded to the acting head of the police prosecution division with a recommendation to draw operational conclusions and reinforce accountability nationwide.
