Respect their authority

Only 32% of Jerusalem’s residents replied positively when asked whether they trust the police.

By OMER YANIV
Offenses witnessed and confidence in law enforcement in selected cities, 2014 (photo credit: JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR ISRAEL STUDIES)
Offenses witnessed and confidence in law enforcement in selected cities, 2014
(photo credit: JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR ISRAEL STUDIES)
Police data show that during 2014, the number of events requiring a police response in the Jerusalem District totaled 225,000, a 15 percent rise from 2012. During these years, a rise of 8% was recorded in the number of calls to the police emergency number 100 in Jerusalem. These calls include quarrels among neighbors and noise complaints. Criminal felonies, on the other hand, dropped by 17% during the same years, from 5,722 in 2012 to 4,746 in 2014.
Crime, it seems, does not reign the streets of the capital, but that’s not necessarily how the residents see it. In a social survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics, respondents were asked about their trust in the police and about their experience with crime and public order issues. In most subjects, residents of Jerusalem replied that they witnessed illegal activities in higher percentages than did the residents of Tel Aviv and Haifa and in higher percentages than the national average.
A quarter of Jerusalem’s residents said that they witnessed cases of property destruction or vandalism – more than the national average (19%) and more than the percentages in Tel Aviv and Haifa. Some 14% percent of Jerusalem respondents, slightly higher than the national average, said that they have seen drug users or dealers in the city. Hate crimes were also reported by Jerusalemites in higher percentages than in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Quarrels among neighbors, as opposed to the above, were reported at a slightly lower percentage in Jerusalem (17%) than in Tel Aviv (18%) or Haifa (19%). Inappropriate conduct or drunkenness was reported by 18% of Jerusalem residents, compared with 22% of residents in Tel Aviv and 20% in Haifa.
Considering the data, one can begin to understand why only 32% of Jerusalem’s residents replied positively when asked whether they trust the police, compared with 40% in Tel Aviv and 51% in Haifa.