It is responsible for various law enforcement duties, including aiding IDF commanders in enforcing discipline, security of all military instillations, guarding the military prisons, locating deserters, investigating crimes committed by soldiers, and helping man the Israel Defense Forces checkpoints The corps puts an emphasis on discipline and follows the principle of A Choice in Life, which says no to traffic accidents, narcotics, alcohol, suicide and improper use of weapons.

[citation needed] The IDF's Military Police Corps traces its roots to a Jewish youth paramilitary organization called Notrim, founded in 1936.

In 1944, an order was given by the Haganah to create its own military police in the Jewish Brigade, and the task was given to a captain therein, named Daniel Lifshitz (later Danny Magen).

The first military police course took place during Israel's founding, including about 150 recruits and ending on June 2, 1948, immediately joined the effort to fight the invading Arab forces.

The northern front, headed by future chief officer Yosef Pressman, consisted of 15 military policemen, most of them former Notrim, and was based in the police compound in Afula.

[8] The company, whose authority had been expanded to include gendarmerie duties due to a lack of civilian police in the besieged city, also dealt with deserter location and crowd dispersal.

[5] During the Suez Crisis of 1956, military police troops operated near the front lines, putting up road signs and escorting convoys in the Sinai Peninsula.

From the moment an area was captured, MPs were ordered to make Hebrew road and direction signs, an operation which was completed ten days after the end of the war.

The first MP base in East Jerusalem was located in the Saint George Hotel, and dealt with the prevention of looting, arrest of Arab militants, and blocking Israeli citizens from entering the newly acquired territories.

[10] The IDF also set up checkpoints at the briges leading from the West Bank to Jordan, and military police were tasked with checking traffic and freight going through them for weapons and explosives.

A special MP unit for guarding VIPs who passed through the area (Hebrew: מאבטח אישים משטרה צבאית, Me'avte'ah Ishim Mishtara Tzva'it, abbr.

[10] In the Yom Kippur War, the military police greatly assisted in the chaos of the surprise attack on Israel, guiding reserve reinforcements to their intended destinations.

In the Sinai Peninsula, large quantities of military vehicles were to move quickly to the front lines, but the narrow roads and lack of direction created major traffic jams.

General Sharon handed the MP company in his division a mission to deliver the mobile pontoon bridges from the bases at Refidim and Rumani on October 15.

At the end of the war, the MP company in the 149th Division (one of the main forces on the northern front) moved south and continued their reserve combat tour in the Sinai.

[10] The military police's mission in Operation Litani was to ensure order among the Arab civilian population in newly captured territory in Lebanon.

[12] For the first time, it met a friendly population in Lebanon, which often cooperated with the IDF – this created a need for MP presence to prevent the soldiers from making illegal dealings with the locals.

When the military police was responsible for jails containing Palestinian detainees (until 2006), there were two additional subsectors:[21] The Criminal Investigations Department (Hebrew: משטרה צבאית חוקרת, Mishtara Tzva'it Hokeret, abbr.

Other investigations include corruption, sexual harassment and assault, suicides, killings and abuse of civilian Palestinian population (done by a special unit that works in the West Bank), and treason.

The sector traces its roots to the Recruitment Police (Hebrew: משטרת גיוס, Mishteret Giyus), a small unit of the corps, founded in 1948.

In military prisons, intelligence collectors (Hebrew: רכזי מודיעין, Rakazei Modi'in or Ramanim) are responsible for working with collaborators within jails to find out information about potential suicides, rebellions, etc.

In the law enforcement sector, there is a small contingent of detectives in each base – a unit referred to as HaMahlaka LeItur UMa'atzar (abbreviated to לאו"ם, Le'om), meaning The Division for Identification and Arrest.

Other than these battalions, soldiers in the sector also help man crossings at Ghajar and Rosh HaNikra (Lebanon), Quneitra (Syria), and Erez and Kerem Shalom (Gaza Strip).

Since its founding in 1995, the Erez Battalion was under the jurisdiction of the West Bank Division and was operated by multiple corps, with the military police sending some soldiers.

During 2004–2006, Erez was transferred to the military police and included in the sector (officially subordinated to the corps in February 2006), while the prior MP checkpoint unit was renamed to Ta'oz Battalion.

The Military Police Company is responsible for all the law enforcement and traffic directing missions, as well as erecting road signs, assisting troop movement, and operating Frontal Supervision Points (Hebrew: נקודת פיקוח קדמית, Nekudat Piku'ah Kidmit, abbr.

This dress is also worn on duty, mostly by MPs performing discipline patrols in public places (train and bus stations, entrances to large bases, etc.)

The units are headed by officers ranked lieutenant colonel, and deal mainly with law enforcement and the arrest of AWOLs, but also employ small detention centers for Israeli and (in the case of the central command) also Palestinian prisoners.

The Chief Military Police Officer's headquarters (Hebrew: מפקדת קצין משטרה צבאית ראשי, Mifkedet Ktzin Mishtara Tzva'it Rashi, abbr.

As a result, following the onset of the Second Intifada, Sayfan and Sirpad were disbanded due to the lack of operational necessity (many of their missions were taken up by the Ofer and Ktzi'ot prisons, and the Israel Border Police), while Sahlav continued working until December 2005.