Will the government give Sir Mark Rowley what he asked for to protect British Jews?
VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS: In May the Met police asked for funding to protect the capital's Jewish community. So far the government has given it one third of what was requested
In early May, in the immediate aftermath of the stabbings in Golders Green, the Chief of the Metropolitan police asked the government for urgent government funding which would allow the force to recruit 300 officers to protect the Jewish community.
Sir Mark Rowley was very clear about the threat British Jews were facing. He described how our community was a target for pretty much every denomination of hate, saying “whether you’re extreme left, whether you’re Islamist terrorist, -whether you’re right-wing terrorist, and some hostile states as well now with some sort of Iranian-related threats. There’s a sort of ghastly Venn diagram that they’re at the middle of.”
A few days later, the news was announced – 100 extra officers would be part of a new dedicated Community Protection Team.
In other words, a third of what had been asked for.
There was a key word in the Met’s press release on the subject, however – “initially”. It is unclear from that word whether the government will in fact be committing to giving the police the full resources they have said they need in order to properly protect the capital’s Jewish community, or whether this is a cost-cutting attempt by the Treasury.
This is not a case of the Jewish community demanding more funding from the government. In this case, the Metropolitan police made a clear – and urgent – request, setting out what they, as law enforcement, needed to effectively protect the more than 100,000 Jews who live in our nation’s capital. It hardly seems unreasonable to wonder whether they are going to get what they ask for.
Senior government voices have repeatedly emphasised the importance of protecting the Jewish community – and that is greatly appreciated. It would seem wise to provide the Met with the full funding they have asked for sooner rather than later, however. In the event of another tragedy, it would reflect terribly on those leading our country if they were perceived to have held back financially while British Jewish safety was hanging in the balance.
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