Ashkelon: Crime and Safety

While many people who have never been to Israel read about it in the news and think it is a dangerous place. In actuality, it is quite safe. When comparing crime and personal safety in Israeli cities to many large metropolitan areas in the USA, Israel is in a different league.

Even within Israel, questions are asked about which cities are safer and have less crime.

Instead of relying on anecdotal evidence, I decided to check out the numbers, which are not easy to find. The police do not release detailed information on crimes by city, but there are clues as to how different cities compare with each other.

First, the national stats. According to the OECD:
“Personal security is a core element for the well-being of individuals. Do you feel safe out walking, alone at night, for example?
In Israel, 70% of people say that they feel safe walking alone at night, broadly in line with the OECD average of 68%.
“The homicide rate (the number of murders per 100 000 inhabitants) is a more reliable measure of a country’s safety level because, unlike other crimes, murders are usually always reported to the police.”

According to the latest OECD data, Israel’s homicide rate is 1.8, LESS THAN HALF of the OECD average of 3.7.

Regarding statistics kept by the police on crimes by city, since these numbers are not routinely published, there have been some stats that were released as a result of a freedom of information request that shed light on the crime stats for different cities. While these numbers are about 10 years old, they give a very rough idea of crime. A few samples are listed below.

The metric used is the number of criminal files per 1,000 people.

• Rishon 28
• Ashkelon 43
• Haifa 43
• Bat Yam 44
• Beersheva 62
• Tel Aviv 67
• Eilat 92

Perception of Crime and Safety

Let’s look at direct comparisons between Ashkelon and a range of other Israeli cities. The following numbers are based on surveys of how people perceive the crime situation in different Israeli cities. It is not hard scientific data, but is useful in giving a subjective indication of perceived crime and safety.

How to read the numbers:
A lower crime index number is better.
A higher safety scale number is better.