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High crime rate, low police enforcement in Arab sector

A report commissioned by MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint List) reveals gaps between the police's handling of serious crimes in the Arab and Jewish sector.

A report commissioned by MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint List) found large gaps in the level of law enforcement between Jewish and Arab sectors in Israeli society.

 

 

The report found that the rate of criminality in the Arab sector is three times higher than that of the Israeli sector when the differences in population are taking into account, but the level of police enforcement is considerably lower. Arabs are 21 percent of the general population, and Jews make up 75 percent.

 

From 2000 to 2016, 79 persons were killed on average per year in the Arab sector, compared with a figure of 43 in the Jewish. According to the report, 40 percent of all the women killed in Israel are Arab.

 

Scene of murder in Petah Tikva (Photo: Ido Erez)
Scene of murder in Petah Tikva (Photo: Ido Erez)

 

Eighty percent of murdered Arab women had previously filed complaints with the police reporting violence or threats compared to 40 percent of the murdered Jewish women. Fifty-three percent of cases in which the complainant was Arab were closed due to lack of evidence, versus 37 percent brought by Jews. Forty-nine percent of cases in the Arab sector were closed because "a suspect was not located" compared with 36 percent in the Jewish sector.

 

Zoabi commented that the report "presents very hard statements against the police." She explained that she wanted the police's handling of serious crime in the Arab sector to be investigated, adding, "It's impossible to separate the issue of crime from the police's treatment of Arab citizens. We see the results every week in murder in broad daylight. There is no way to change this situation without forcing the police to offer some honest accountability."

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.06.17, 13:50
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