Jewish communities are to be better protected from vile
antisemitic attacks with a £1 million funding boost and a new
dedicated police taskforce.
Synagogues and faith schools will be given £15 million for
protective security measures in 2023 to 2024 as part of the
Jewish Community Protective Security grant, a £1 million increase
on last year. This will fund increased protective security,
including security guards and other security measures such
as CCTV and alarm systems to protect against persistent hate
crime, anti-social behaviour, terrorism and state threats.
In addition, senior policing leaders, ministers, the Community
Security Trust (CST), and other stakeholders will form a new
Jewish Community Police, Crime and Security Taskforce. The
taskforce will strengthen accountability and enhance efforts to
combat antisemitic crime and violence against Jewish communities.
It will provide a regular forum to discuss with operational
partners, communal security concerns relating to policing,
terrorism, state threats, hate crime, and public order matters.
Chaired by the Home Secretary, it will meet for the first time in
late spring, and 3 times a year thereafter.
The first meeting is likely to consider whether it is necessary
to review operational policing guidance in light of concerns
shared by the Jewish community. This could include guidance on
specific chants, banners and emblems which are antisemitic, and
ensuring that the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are
using their powers to arrest and charge criminals who pose a
threat to the Jewish community.
The measures follow the latest Home Office hate crime statistics
which show that despite making up less than 1% of the population,
almost a quarter of recorded religiously-motivated hate crimes in
the UK were against Jewish people in 2021 to 2022.
The Home Secretary announced new measures in a speech at the
Community Security Trust’s annual dinner on 29 March.
Home Secretary said:
Antisemitism is one of the great evils in the world. It is vital
that all people, but especially political leaders, challenge
antisemitism whenever and wherever they encounter it.
Attacks on the Jewish community are abhorrent. I applaud the
police’s efforts to tackle these crimes, but we must go further
to ensure the vile criminals who threaten the peace and safety of
Jewish communities feel the full force of the law.
I am proud to be working closely with the Community Security
Trust and colleagues in policing and beyond to help protect the
UK’s Jewish community, go after antisemitic offenders, and stamp
out racism in all its forms.
Minister for Security, said:
Antisemitism is abhorrent and I stand hand in hand with the
Jewish community against all its manifestations.
We must continue to strive to ensure that every community can
live and worship in safety, free from threat.
CST Chief Executive Mark Gardner MBE said:
This announcement by the Home Secretary is hugely welcome, given
the continuing threats of terrorism and antisemitism that are
faced by British Jews. CST will continue to do everything we can
in partnership with the Home Office so as to ensure the best
possible security for Jewish schools, synagogues and communities
throughout the country.
National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Lead for Hate Crime,
Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, said:
It is vital that all citizens are able to live their lives free
from targeted abuse, and the NPCC supports this funding to help
reduce antisemitic hostility suffered by Jewish people in the UK.
The right to live free from targeted abuse is a fundamental right
that we all share and we will continue to work to bring offenders
to justice. I would encourage anyone who suffers such a crime to
report it, either to the police or to the CST. In an emergency,
always call 999.
The Home Secretary has also pledged to write to all Home Office
public bodies and every chief constable and police and crime
commissioner, as well as the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the
College of Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service, to
reaffirm the government’s support for the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, and
encourage its further adoption.
The new funding will bring the total amount allocated through the
Jewish Community Protective Security Grant to £122 million since
2015.
