"This case doesn't interest anyone": The police are missing hundreds of officers - and the citizens are paying the price
An investigation by '7 Days' reveals a shortage of over 2,100 police officers in the Israel Police, with 23 out of 86 stations missing more than a fifth of their staff. The article presents three cases where citizens needed immediate assistance and did not receive it: attorney Ronen Ben Zvi was beaten and left disabled after the police did not respond in time; a grandmother was attacked and robbed; and a jewelry store was burglarized. The shortage grew from 353 officers in 2019 to 1,470 in June 2025.
An investigative report by '7 Days' on ynet reveals a severe shortage of hundreds of police officers in the Israel Police, which has reached over 2,100 officers as of today, of whom 728 are missing from patrol units. The article presents three cases where citizens needed immediate police assistance and did not receive it in time: attorney Ronen Ben Zvi, a former police officer, was brutally beaten in Jaffa and left disabled after the police did not respond to his call, and his brother had to wait hours at the station to file a complaint about an attempted murder; an elderly grandmother was attacked and robbed, and her granddaughter caught the perpetrators; and a jewelry store was burglarized and the officers did not arrive in time. The shortage has quadrupled in six years, from 353 officers in 2019 to 1,470 in June 2025, and has worsened further since. The article quotes MK Miki Levy expressing concern about the manpower situation, and the response of the Israel Police, which claimed a significant increase in recruitment volumes in recent years.