The concept of policing can be traced back to the Torah, to the Book of Deuteronomy. As you read this text, think about the following: "Why does the Torah pair "magistrates" with "officials"? How does the function of one relate to the function of the other?
The Talmud describes the scope of policing in a community governed according to Jewish law. How wide is this scope and why do you think the rabbis structured policing in this way? How does this arrangement compare with our current system?
תנו רבנן מניין שמעמידין שופטים לישראל תלמוד לומר (דברים טז, יח) שופטים תתן שוטרים לישראל מניין תלמוד לומר שוטרים תתן שופטים לכל שבט ושבט מניין תלמוד לומר שופטים לשבטיך שוטרים לכל שבט ושבט מניין ת"ל שוטרים לשבטיך שופטים לכל עיר ועיר מניין ת"ל שופטים לשעריך שוטרים לכל עיר ועיר מניין ת"ל שוטרים לשעריך
The Sages taught in a baraita: From where is it derived that society must establish judges for the Jewish people? The verse states: “You shall place judges and officers over you in all of your gates that the Lord your God gives you for your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment” (Deuteronomy 16:18). From where is it derived that society must also establish officers for the Jewish people? The same verse states: “You shall place judges and officers.” From where is it derived that society must also establish judges not only for the entire Jewish people but also for each and every tribe? The verse states: “You shall place judges and officers…for your tribes.” From where is it derived that society must also establish officers for each and every tribe? The same verse states: “You shall place judges and officers…for your tribes.” From where is it derived that society must also establish judges for each and every city? The verse states: You shall place judges and officers…for your gates, as the gate of the city is the seat of the elders of the city and its judges. From where is it derived that society must also establish officers for each and every city? The verse states: You shall place Judges and officers…for your gates.
What is the function of a police force? There are different answers within our tradition. As we look at some of these answers, let's try to (1) identify the different roles police might play (2) determine whether these roles are complementary, or whether they suggest different models of policing and (3) how do these descriptions compare to the role of police in our communities?
(א) מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁל תּוֹרָה לְמַנּוֹת שׁוֹפְטִים וְשׁוֹטְרִים בְּכָל מְדִינָה וּמְדִינָה וּבְכָל פֶּלֶךְ וּפֶלֶךְ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים טז יח) "שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ". שׁוֹפְטִים אֵלּוּ הַדַּיָּנִים הַקְּבוּעִין בְּבֵית דִּין וּבַעֲלֵי דִּינִין בָּאִים לִפְנֵיהֶם. שׁוֹטְרִים אֵלּוּ בַּעֲלֵי מַקֵּל וּרְצוּעָה וְהֵם עוֹמְדִים לִפְנֵי הַדַּיָּנִין הַמְסַבְּבִין בַּשְּׁוָקִים וּבָרְחוֹבוֹת וְעַל הַחֲנֻיּוֹת לְתַקֵּן הַשְּׁעָרִים וְהַמִּדּוֹת וּלְהַכּוֹת כָּל מְעַוֵּת וְכָל מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם עַל פִּי הַדַּיָּנִים וְכָל שֶׁיִּרְאוּ בּוֹ עִוּוּת דָּבָר מְבִיאִין אוֹתוֹ לְבֵית דִּין וְדָנִין אוֹתוֹ כְּפִי רִשְׁעוֹ:
It is a positive Scriptural commandment to appoint judges and enforcement officers in every city and in every region, as Deuteronomy 16:18 states: "Appoint judges and enforcement officers in all your gates."
"Judges" refers to magistrates whose attendance is fixed in court, before whom the litigants appear. "Enforcement officers" refers to those equipped with a billet and a lash who stand before the judges and patrol the market places and the streets to inspect the stores and to regulate the prices and the measures. They inflict corporal punishment on all offenders. Their deeds are controlled entirely by the judges.
Whenever a person is seen perpetrating injustice, they should bring him to the court, where he will be judged according to his wickedness.
(ד) חייבים ב"ד להעמיד שוטרים ברגלים שיהיו משוטטים ומחפשים בגנות ופרדסים ועל הנהרות שלא יתקבצו שם לאכול ולשתות אנשים ונשים ויבואו לידי עבירה וכן יזהירו בדבר זה לכל העם שלא יתערבו אנשים ונשים בבתיהם בשמחה ולא ימשכו ביין שמא יבואו לידי עבירה אלא יהיו כולם קדושים :
(4) 4. The court must appoint officers who will walk around patrolling gardens, orchards, and rivers, so that men and women will not gather there to eat and drink and end up sinning. They should similarly warn the whole nation about this - that men and women should not joyously mix in houses and overindulge in wine, lest they come to sin. Rather, all should be holy.
Judges and Shotrim: There is no doubt that the Shotrim are not the messengers of Beis Din who chastised with the stick. Because in Egypt those who punished with the stick were called Nogsim, not Shotrim. And earlier on it says, "So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you" etc. and Shotrim, in Divrei Hayamim Bet 19:11, "And, behold, Amariah the chief priest...and Zebadiah the ruler...also the officers of the Levites before you, And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges," And here the judges are judging in matter between a man and his fellow, or in the instance when witnesses testify regarding a man that sinned, and the Shotrim are the overseers of the peace of the nation and those who make decrees and customs on the nation.
D’var HaMishpat Hilkhot Sanhedrin Section 7 Rabbi Chaim David HaLevy (20th century)
That is to say that the job of police officers is not restricted just to carrying a baton and a belt and to the punishment of criminals, rather they are the leaders of the generation. For a leader and a judge are sources of authority, and fields which border upon each other, sometimes they call him judge, and sometimes leader.
Many of the above sources give the police great power and discretion. But what are the limits of police power and how do we prevent that power from being abused? What answers do the following sources provide?
(דברים א, טז) ואצוה את שופטיכם בעת ההיא אמר רבי יוחנן כנגד מקל ורצועה תהא זריז (דברים א, טז) שמוע בין אחיכם ושפטתם
The Gemara interprets other verses related to the topic of adjudicating cases. “And I charged your judges at that time, saying: Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger who is with him” (Deuteronomy 1:16). Understanding that the word “charged” indicates alacrity, Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Moses urged the judges: With regard to the rod and the strap, be vigilant.
Be careful: To not terrorize the community, to come down on them too hard. And so it is proved later on, when we interpret this verse to say that a judge needs to be patient (lit. suffer) the community.
...אם כנים אנו, הוא מפני שתפקיד זה של מעצר אדם והבאתו בפני בית הדין אינו מן הדין שימסר למי שאינו בקי בדינים ויודע היטב עבירה מה היא, וכבר קורה פעמים רבות שאדם נעצר ובמעצרו מתברר שלא חטא, או שאף הוא מובא בפני בית הדין, ורק שם מתברר שלא חטא כל עיקר, אך בינתיים נגרם לו נזק רב הן חמרי והן נפשי, וכל זה משום שהשוטר או המשטרה, נדמה היה להם שאיש זה חטא, ולכן אפילו מעצר זמני לא היה מותר אלא על פי הדיינים... עברית
Dvar HaMishpat, Rabbi Chaim David, HaLevy, Tel Aviv, 20th Century
(with thanks to Rabbi Jill Jacobs for providing the source)
And if we are honest, this [second hypothetical kind of judge whose job would be to accompany the police] would exist because this duty, where one arrests a person and brings them in front of a court - it isn't right that it should be given to a person who isn't an expert in the law, and who doesn't know very well what is a crime; and it already many times happens that a person gets arrested, and it becomes clear, during his detention that he did nothing wrong, or even when he is brought before the court, only there does it become clear hasn't done wrong at all. However, in the meantime much damage has been caused him - both physical and spiritual. And all this is because the officer or the police - it seemed them that this person was a criminal. Therefore, even temporary detention is only permissible when directed by a judge.
Rabbi Chaim David HaLevy
Aseh L’kha Rav 3:48
“How is it possible to prevent distress and pain to those who are innocent, on whom suspicion falls, in cases in which it eventually becomes clear that there was no basis for this suspicion?...The requirement of police personnel of a stronger base for
their suspicion is very just—it is exceedingly clear that this
is something that depends on very careful consideration, and
also on legal knowledge.”
There is a broad consensus in our country that there are too many incidents of police brutality. This consensus also affirms that everyone should be treated equally under the law. But how do we achieve these goals? Is it simply a matter of reform--better training and more accountability? Or do we need to have a different model of policing altogether? How your study of Jewish sources today lead you to any new insights?
Regardless of what is done to reform or re-vision policing, these measures will only be as effective as the commitment to them by police officers themselves. Rabbi HaLevy makes this clear in the following passage from D'var HaMishpat, which applies to Jewish police officers, but could easily apply to anyone charged with the responsibility for upholding laws in any community.
(D’var HaMishpat Hilkhot Sanhedrin Section 7)
“The personality of Jewish police officers must be of the highest ethical order,
so that they themselves will serve as a good example of following law and living a pure ethical life. And they will merit to see a society based on the foundations of purity and divine sanctity as promised in the Torah: ‘God commanded us to follow all of these laws and to fear God for our goodalways, that God might keep us alive, as is the case today.’(Deut. 6:24)