The Knesset law committee will discuss on Sunday a proposal by MK Yariv Levin (Likud) that would prohibit minors from drinking alcohol in public places. Police who observe such activity will be empowered to confiscate the alcohol, and possibly to detain the offending youth.
Levin said that juvenile crime rates have been going up over the past several years, and studies showed that many of the delinquents responsible for those crimes were drunk at the time they were committed. Drinking causes more traffic accidents, public disorder, trash, and violence, both verbal and physical, Levin said, citing statistics that showed that police opened 33,000 cases against youths for suspected crimes in 2008, compared to just 25,500 in 1996.