Polygraph (illustrative)
Polygraph (illustrative)Yossi Zamir/Flash90

Police officers will now be required to sign an affidavit affirming that they have not been involved in criminal activity or sex offenses, Channel 2 reports Friday, after Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein halted a newer policy of polygraph tests. 

While the polygraph tests have ceased, the addition of an affidavit to the acceptance process for future officers still marks a dramatic change in protocol for the Israel Police, as well as for future promotions. 

Every officer with the rank of commander or higher will be required to state that he or she has not taken part in any illicit relationships, according to the new protocol. Applicants who are suspected to have lied will then be approved to undergo a polygraph test.

Weinstein also noted in his ruling that the elections process does not halt new appointments to police posts, thus allowing a new Judea-Samaria District Commander to be appointed after the resignation of former commander Koby Cohen

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich proposed the idea two weeks ago several senior officers to polygraph tests several weeks ago, after yet another scandal was revealed in the Israel Police.

The idea of a polygraph test had first been introduced in October, when Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino declared that police officers would be subjected to lie-detector tests amid a media circus over several scandals. 

However, Weinstein rejected the idea, thus forging the compromise of a preliminary affidavit. 

The Israel Police has been plagued with ongoing controversy after the successive resignation of six senior officers - Koby Cohen, Niso Shaham, Roni Atiya, Bruno Stein, Menashe Arbiv and Yossi Pariente - over accusations of corruption and sexual harassment.