Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has increased the budget for the Israel Police, and wants to see 2,500 new police jobs open by 2018, according to his ministry's biennial budget, which Erdan presented to the Knesset Finance Committee on Monday. Erdan has allocated an additional 2.1 billion shekels ($540 million) to the Israel Police, meaning that the police will have an annual budget of 17.2 billion shekels ($4.45 billion) for 2018. Over the next two years, Erdan plans to authorize 2,500 new police jobs. Erdan told the committee that "the public security minister doesn't rule the police budget with an iron rod, and all the authority over how to use that budget lies with the police commissioner." Erdan also announced that the Israel Police would be founding a new unit of 130 police officers dedicated to fighting sex crimes and sexual exploitation of women on Facebook and other social media platforms. "Today, there is no threat scenario on the country's borders or of Israel being occupied. All the threats are internal ones," the minister said. "Facebook has a strong influence on the level of violence and [people's] sense of safety," Erdan added, explaining that one inciting post on social media was sufficient to prompt a terrorist to commit an attack. Erdan also informed the committee that crime cost the Israeli economy some 20 billion shekels ($5.2 billion) annually. Knesset Finance Committee Chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) asked Erdan to take action and open police stations in ultra-Orthodox cities.
Public security minister wants 2,500 new police officers by 2018
Israel Police budget gets $540 million infusion, police to found new unit devoted to fighting sex crimes and sexual exploitation of women on social media • Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan says crime costs Israeli economy $5.2 billion a year.
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