Israel: Crime rate drops in 2012

Israel Police Inspector-General Yohanan Danino announced Sunday a five-percent drop of crime rate nationwide in the first eight months of 2012 compared with the same period last year. Danino, who briefed ministers at a weekly cabinet meeting, emphasized what he underscored as a significant drop in crimes in the Arab communities over the past few months. The police inspector credited the decrease to the government's financial support to the police, which he said helped cover the costs of a number of reforms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the news. " This is a very welcome change," he said. "People's willingness to enter Arab communities is a ground breaking change." Bringing down the crime rate "is important for the benefit of the entire Israeli public, specifically the Arab citizens. It's important that Israeli citizens know that we've got a very good police force that is fighting crime effectively," he added. In March, the Ministry of Public Security released a report showing Israeli Arabs were responsible for 67 percent of homicides, 70 percent of attempted murders and 53 percent of arsons committed in the country. Arabs are also the main victims of these crimes, according to the statistics. Following the report, Netanyahu called upon Israel's 1.5 million Arab residents to take an active part in efforts to bring down the crime rate.