'Crime cost Israel NIS 15.8 billion in 2014'

In report, violent crimes account for 34.4% of economic damage caused, with murders by far the most costly, with each murder costing the state an average of NIS 2.3 million.

By BEN HARTMAN
Updated: JULY 28, 2015 02:39
Handcuffs [Illustrative] (photo credit: INIMAGE)
Handcuffs [Illustrative]
(photo credit: INIMAGE)
The cost of crime in Israel jumped 9.1 percent to NIS 15.8 billion in 2014, the Public Security Ministry said Monday, as part of a report by the ministry’s planning, oversight and budgetary branch.
The figures translate into a personal “crime tax” of NIS 1,921 paid by each Israeli citizen.
Violent crimes accounted for 34.4% of the economic damage last year, with murders by far the most costly, with each costing the state an average of NIS 2.3 million. The highest percentage of damage was caused by property crimes at 22%, followed by drug crimes at 14.9%, according to the report.
Every reported sex crime, meanwhile, cost the taxpayer an average of NIS 40,400, it said.
From 2001-2014, crime cost the State of Israel some NIS 228 billion, the report estimated.
According to the methodology of the report, the economic damage of crime is measured in three categories – damages caused by the threat of crime and how it can deter business and reduce the feeling of security of civilians; direct damage such as the loss of property and work hours lost by crime victims; and damages spent on law enforcement and the court and correctional systems.
In response to the figures, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan vowed Monday “to increase the number of police and increase their presence across the country to decrease violence and enhance the public’s feeling of security.”