Haaretz:
The number of cases opened by the police involving sex crimes within the family jumped by 41 percent, from 24 to 34, in March compared to March of last year, largely because families have been sequestered at home due to the coronavirus epidemic, police said.
The Israel Police also reported a 16 percent increase in domestic violence cases more generally in March of this year compared to last, in part due to the fact that adult probation offices have curtailed operations as a result of the epidemic and that some of the groups offering therapy for domestic violence offenders have been shut down entirely.
By contrast, there has been no change in the rate of violent crime committed in public – beyond the domestic setting. Police opened 4,227 files involving violent crimes outside the home in the past two weeks, a pace virtually identical to the 4,243 cases opened during the same period last year.
“While the number of people, primarily children and women, who are suffering at home from physical, sexual and economic violence has risen due to the lock down, the Finance Ministry is continuing to take advantage of the situation to curtail some of the most important services – probation services, services for youth at risk and violence prevention services,” the chairwoman of the Social Workers’ Union, Inbal Hermoni, claimed.
There was a drop in other types of crime, however, and all told the number of criminal cases opened last month was down 19 percent compared to March 2019. This was mainly due to a steep drop in the commission of property crimes, with home break-ins in particular plummeting 45 percent. Police attributed the drop to the coronavirus lockdown as well, as people were confined to their homes and many businesses closed.
By contrast, the number of break-ins at businesses, which had also declined during the first half of March, increased in the second half, police said in a statement, although they did not provide specific figures.
The number of cases opened by the police involving sex crimes within the family jumped by 41 percent, from 24 to 34, in March compared to March of last year, largely because families have been sequestered at home due to the coronavirus epidemic, police said.
The Israel Police also reported a 16 percent increase in domestic violence cases more generally in March of this year compared to last, in part due to the fact that adult probation offices have curtailed operations as a result of the epidemic and that some of the groups offering therapy for domestic violence offenders have been shut down entirely.
By contrast, there has been no change in the rate of violent crime committed in public – beyond the domestic setting. Police opened 4,227 files involving violent crimes outside the home in the past two weeks, a pace virtually identical to the 4,243 cases opened during the same period last year.
“While the number of people, primarily children and women, who are suffering at home from physical, sexual and economic violence has risen due to the lock down, the Finance Ministry is continuing to take advantage of the situation to curtail some of the most important services – probation services, services for youth at risk and violence prevention services,” the chairwoman of the Social Workers’ Union, Inbal Hermoni, claimed.
There was a drop in other types of crime, however, and all told the number of criminal cases opened last month was down 19 percent compared to March 2019. This was mainly due to a steep drop in the commission of property crimes, with home break-ins in particular plummeting 45 percent. Police attributed the drop to the coronavirus lockdown as well, as people were confined to their homes and many businesses closed.
By contrast, the number of break-ins at businesses, which had also declined during the first half of March, increased in the second half, police said in a statement, although they did not provide specific figures.
Detroit Metro Times:
We totally get it. Times are bleak. Life is grim. Nearly two weeks into Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's statewide stay-at-home order, and Michiganders are already feeling like Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas or, like, Nicolas Cage in real life singing post-divorce Prince karaoke — and they're drinking like him, too.
With liquor stores deemed essential businesses under Whitmer's executive order and the entire state homebound, it's no wonder that alcohol sales are on the rise, not just here, but nationwide. According to market research firm Nielsen, alcoholic beverage sales are up 55% as of the week of March 15-22 across the country. Spirit sales are up, too, and have soared to 75%, while beer has seen a 66% jump and wine has spiked to 42% when compared to this time last year — you know, when we weren't living in a medical nightmare.
This news might make you want to celebrate the resilience of our livers by doing a shot or pouring a glass of breakfast wine (it's a thing now), but the Michigan Liquor Control Commission urges drinkers to moderate their intake because of the havoc it can wreak on our immune systems, which are really important because of coronavirus. Maybe you've heard of it?
Anyway, the MLCC urges folks to set limits when drinking and to not allow the collective trauma and grieving we're experiencing to increase our usual non-dystopian drinking limits. They also advise limiting high-sugar alcoholic beverages, which can also impact those with underlying health conditions.
“During this time of coronavirus, be careful of excessive drinking because it can compromise a person’s immune system,” commission chair Pat Gagliardi said in the release. “Moderation is important. Don’t underestimate how much you have actually been drinking.”
The commission also reminds us that some alcohol is stronger than others, including tequila and gin, and that a “standard drink” is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces for wine, or 1.5 ounces for spirits or liquor with a 40% alcohol content.
Depressed yet? Hold my beer. Also per MLCC, women 65 and younger should stick to just one drink or less per day and men 65 and younger should limit themselves to two or fewer drinks per day.
Sigh. Pass the bottle ... of water.
--------------------
When a person has no G-d, no meaning, no purpose and things get rough, then he or she will often become abusive - either to themselves or others. When a person HAS purpose and meaning - he or she can turn to the Source and use the experience to BECOME BETTER PEOPLE in so many different ways.
Egypt is referred to as a כור הברזל - a crucible i.e. a situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new.
We are in our own horrible Mitzrayim. Let us use it to transform ourselves, bi-siyata di-Shmaya!!!
