Police: Large decrease in crime nationwide amid security flare-up, war in Israel
The drop in crime coincided with a dramatic deployment of police and Border Patrol officers across the country.
By BEN HARTMANIsraeli Police(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
The recent security situation saw a significant decrease in crime over the same period last year, though there was a dramatic increase in violent disturbances.According to police, there was a nationwide drop of 10 percent in criminal cases opened over the same period last year, most noticeably in home burglaries and car theft, both of which dropped by 30%.Police began the comparison on June 12, the day that three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped in the West Bank and police and security services went on high alert nationwide.There was an overall 20% drop in property crime compared to this time last year and a 12% drop compared to data collected before June 12.The drop in crime coincided with a dramatic deployment of police and Border Patrol officers across the country, who worked 12-hour shifts beginning June 12 and throughout Operation Protective Edge.This is in addition to the call-up of five companies of Border Patrol reservists and more than 1,000 police cadets and 2,000 police volunteers deployed during this time.Part of the reason for the call-up was an increase in riots and public disturbances in the Arab sector. Police said they arrested 1,513 people, almost all of them Arabs, for rioting since June 12 – of which hundreds have been indicted.They said that the Border Police alone reported 567 cases of rock-throwing against their officers, and 136 in which Molotov cocktails were thrown. In addition they faced nine shooting incidents and 25 cases where pipe bombs were thrown at their officers according to police figures.
