77%  of Israel's Arab citizens believe the police give preferential treatment to Jews and yet over 60% of them are not willing to give up police presence in their community. These figures are revealed by research carried out by The Abraham Fund Initiatives, which examined the attitudes of the Arab population towards the police. The research was conducted by Dr. Guy Ben-Porat and Dr. Fanny Yuval, both from Ben-Gurion University in the Negev.

In addition, 62% reported that, in the situation of an equitable policing policy, they support the recruitment of Arab citizens to the police force and believe that this move can improve the relationship between the Arab community and the police.

The respondents' view on community policing shows that in its present structure it is not viewed as effective in response to the needs of the Arab population which requires effective enforcement of drug offenses, traffic accidents, domestic conflicts and environmental hazards.

The study further reveals that the Arab society experiences a sense of "Under-Policing" which is expressed, according to respondents, by negligence in the treatment of crime in Arab towns. Parallel to this, a sense of "Over-Policing" is sensed which comes about in disproportionately severe police actions towards Arab citizens, outside of their towns.

The study relies on qualitative data collected from focus groups and quantitative data which includes a national representative survey of over 1,000 respondents from the adult Arab population in Israel.

The study was conducted as part of the "Arab society- Police relations" initiative, which is a joint project, of The Abraham Fund Initiatives and the Israeli police. The initiative was established following the October 2000 Events and the Orr Commission Report, in order to improve relations between police and Arab society and promote equal policing service to Israel's Arab citizens. The initiative includes various training activities for policemen and police officers on issues such as "policing in a divided society", establishing mechanisms for dialogue between representatives of the Arab society and the commanders of police stations, police Sub-Districts and Districts.

The findings of this research were presented at a session on the subject of "Future relations between Jews and Arabs - Arab society and the police in Israel" at the Jaffa Conference on Thursday, January 21st, at 14:15.  The panel was moderated by Co-Director of The Abraham Fund Initiatives, Mr. Amnon Beeri-Sulitzeanu. Participants included the Director General of the Ministry of Public Security, Mr. Hagai Peleg; Chairman of Arab Mayors and Mayor of Nazareth Mr. Ramez Jeraisi; Police Commander of the Yiftach Sub-District (Southern Tel-Aviv-Yaffo) Commander Yoram Ohayon and the conductor of the research,  Dr. Guy Ben-Porat.

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