Police chief to join Tel Aviv patrol

Seeking to send a powerful message in the shadow of a wave of violent crime, Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Yochanan Danino will join a patrol in south Tel Aviv on Friday night – one of the busiest policing nights of the week.

The move follows two alleged incidents of rape and sexual assault of young women in south Tel Aviv by African migrants.

“He will join a regular patrol to observe how violence is prevented and responded to,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Danino will closely monitor patrols of the area when many bars and clubs will be filled with young people.

“He wants to ensure that his instructions are being applied,” Rosenfeld added, referring to a directive Danino sent to all police districts this week ordering increased deployment on weekends.

This usually happens when the summer school vacation begins in June, but Danino ordered the plan to be applied sooner to give the public a better sense of security.

The new configuration involves each station drawing up a local map where police visibility is most needed. Volunteers will back up the patrols in entertainment districts.

The aim is to “decrease violence, drug offenses, offenses which harm the quality of life, alcohol consumption, the selling of alcohol [by stores illegally after 11 p.m.], and drink driving,” police said this week.

Uniformed and undercover officers will take part in the beefed-up street presence.