772 doi:10.1093/bjc/azp037 BRIT. J. CRIMINOL. (2009) 49, 772–787 Advance Access publication 12 June 2009 © The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (ISTD). All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org SOCIAL CONTROL IN THE FACE OF SECURITY AND MINORITY THREATS The Effects of Terrorism, Minority Threat and Economic Crisis on the Law Enforcement System in Israel Revital Sela-Shayovitz* This study focuses on a combination of security, minority and economic threats that occurred concurrently during the Second Intifada in Israel and their impact on social control. The Israeli situation provides a unique opportunity for implementing the natural experiment approach. This study was based on an interrupted time-series analysis of a restricted time period, namely 1995– 2005. ARMA models were used to examine the effects of Intifada period, terrorist attacks, unemployment rates and ethnic origin on pre-trial detention rates. The findings support the minority threat hypothesis. A strong and statistically significant interaction effect was found between the Second Intifada and ethnic origin: pre-trial detentions of Arabs increased during the Intifada and were higher than those of Jews. The results partially support the economic threat hypothesis. Keywords: terrorism, economic threat, minority threat, pre-trial detention Introduction Rates of imprisonment are not random or unpredictable. Rather, they are conceptualizations deeply embedded in the main patterns of social relationships at a given period. Research indicates that during periods of social or economic crisis, when a threat is posed by the presence of ethnic minorities or heightened economic disparities, dominant conservative groups demand to enforce sanctions more strictly in response to the crisis by using harsher penalties (Jacobs and Kleban 2003; Melossi 2000). Reactions to harsher penalties are mainly expressed by the social elite when the crisis is perceived as threatening their dominant form of social relations, namely their power (Jacobs and Kleban 2003; Melossi 2000; O’Connor 1987). In consequence, the productivity of the penal system increases and incarceration rates may rise (Jacobs and Kleban 2003; Melossi 1998). To date, the majority of studies have focused on the effects of economic conditions and minority threat on social control. None of the studies has dealt with the combined effect of security and minority threats on the response of the law enforcement system. This paper attempts to address this important aspect by examining whether security, minority and economic threats, which all occurred simultaneously in Israel during the Second Intifada, affected pre-trial detention rates. The term ‘Intifada’ refers to the violent Palestinian uprisings against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, both of which have been under Israeli *  Dr, Institute of Criminology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and David Yellin College; ron15r@netvision.net.il.