Police commissioner Insp.-Gen. Yochanan Danino hailed the launch of the urban policing model during a speech on Monday.
Under the plan, municipal inspectors with special training receive certain police rights, and go on joint patrols with officers, thereby increasing the police's presence.
"This step, which we are launching today, is aimed at adding a new dimension to the Israel Police's activities. This is not just another conservative law enforcement action... but a wider concept of policing," Danino said.
"It is based on the connection between police and the community as partners," he added.
"It will also be an opportunity for the police to get to know the social problems of every community, to map out criminal activity, and to deal with this through prevention, rehabilitation, and educational cooperation," Danino said.
The urban policing model comes after the previous police commissioner, Insp. Gen. (ret.) David Cohen, adamantly rejected calls to decentralize the national force in order to create separate municipal police departments that would have been under the control of mayors.