THE ISRAELI CRIMINAL-JUSTICE SYSTEM IN ACTION - IS JUSTICE ADMINISTERED DIFFERENTIALLY

This study focuses on two major junctures in the Israeli criminal just ice system, the preadjudication stage and the trial stage. The data ar e gathered from records accumulated during the period 1980 through 199 2. For each year between 1980 and 1992, a random sample of 3637 person s, who had their first police contact during that year, was drawn from the computerized central file at Israeli Police Headquarters. A total of 40,007 individuals, with a total of 97,000 records, constituted th e study population. The results identify which criminal records were m ost likely to be terminated prior to adjudication and which records, o nce adjudicated, were most likely to conclude in conviction. Major emp hasis was placed on the issue of nationality-being an Arab or a Jew-wh ile the effect of other variables, such as the type of offense and the time period, were controlled. The criminal justice system was found t o be less discriminating at the early stages of the criminal process, but as the offender moved along the process, the chances that national ity would play an important part increased.