An Israeli government report has revealed that the cost of crime in the country is more than $4 billion a year. The report by the Ministry of Public Security says that the financial toll is calculated according to how much crimes cost the government, in relation to the Israeli Gross National Product.
According to the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, “a review of the financial damage caused to the State by criminal acts and activity over the past decade came up with a staggering figure – NIS 158.1 billion, or $46.4 billion.”
The report found that murders were the most financially damaging crimes in Israel in 2010, with sex offences in second place, followed by fraud and property theft.