Last update - 00:00 25/12/2007
Dichter: Courts are too merciful in sentencing criminals
By Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondent
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter harshly criticized the courts' handling of growing crime Tuesday, saying punishments given by judges to criminals were "too merciful."
Dichter's remarks, which were made during a meeting of an anti-crime lobby group headed by MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), join an increasing public debate over the court's role in dealing with rising crime in Israel.
Dichter said that "our problem is less with the penalties required by law, but more with the level of severity of punishments given. Very frequently, the punishments are insufficient. We are compelled to minimize the gap between the penalties allowed by law, and the actual punishments handed down- it's [the gap] is too wide."
Dichter further maintained that he sent out letters to Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch, Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, and officials in the State Prosecutor's Office regarding the matter.
The minister said that Israel Police recently took a sample survey of 1,100 court cases of criminal activity, such as stealing property and car jacking, and found that the majority of cases concluded with a court sentence of up to two years of prison.
"There was only one case that was three years, and one that was four years. In house burglary cases, not one case ended with more than three years' sentencing," Dichter said.
The minister noted that 83 percent of convicted criminals return to their criminal activity after their prison time. "The court, instead of dealing [with the criminals] the first time, are either too merciful or the case is insufficient. An easy sentence weakens the deterrence, and obliges the entire system to deal with the same criminals again."