Met Police announces new Community Protection Team amid rise in further antisemitic hate crime

The Metropolitan Police has unveiled a specialist Community Protection Team comprising of 100 additional officers dedicated to safeguarding Jewish communities throughout the capital.

This newly established unit merges neighbourhood policing expertise with specialist protection and counter-terrorism resources, creating a more coordinated and intelligence-driven approach to community safety.

Rather than depending on temporary surges in officer numbers, the force aims to build lasting protection through locally embedded officers who maintain strong connections with residents, educational institutions, religious leaders and community volunteers.

The team will initially concentrate on Jewish communities, which face elevated levels of hate crime alongside threats from terrorists and hostile foreign states.

The announcement coincides with an ongoing investigation into a suspected arson attack at a synagogue yesterday morning, alongside multiple weekend arrests for racially and religiously motivated offences.

On Friday, officers detained a 57-year-old man accused of threatening a Jewish man with racially offensive language.

The following day, a 35-year-old was arrested after rocks were hurled at a Jewish community ambulance transporting a patient in Edgware.

Additional arrests occurred in Brent and Croydon on Saturday for offences including racially aggravated harassment and criminal damage.

All suspects remain on bail.

Over the past month, approximately 50 individuals have been arrested for antisemitic hate crimes, with eight charged.

Combined with 28 arrests connected to arson investigations conducted with Counter Terrorism Policing, total arrests now exceed 80.

The Government announced £25million in one-off funding last week to bolster protective policing efforts, with £18million specifically allocated to the Metropolitan Police.

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This financial support will retrospectively cover substantial costs already incurred while rapidly increasing police presence in North West London during a period of unprecedented threats.

The force is currently deploying an additional 1,000 officer shifts per week, funded through overtime and temporary redeployments from across the capital.

While this injection of funds enables the Community Protection Team's establishment and stabilises the immediate situation, the Met has indicated that ongoing discussions with Government are necessary to ensure sustainable long-term investment given the persistent nature of the threat.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: "The creation of a new Community Protection Team of around 100 officers is an important step in strengthening our response to the sustained threats Jewish communities are facing.

"It brings together experienced local officers who know their communities, supported by specialist capabilities, to provide more visible, consistent and intelligence‑led protection.

He added: "I welcome the Government’s £18million funding, which has already paid for thousands of additional officer shifts at a time of exceptional pressure.

"But this funding is short term and requires investment to sustain our policing response to this growing threat.

"We are working with Government and the Mayor to ensure the approach we are building can be sustained over time, not just for Jewish communities, but as a model that can support other communities across London when facing elevated risk.

"A settled, long‑term model built around local teams will be far more effective than repeated emergency responses, reducing risk and delivering lasting reassurance.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, welcomed the support for a new dedicated Community Protection Team.

He said: The appalling attack in Golders Green was just the latest in a series of antisemitic acts of violence that have targeted Jewish people, synagogues, homes and charities, creating ripples of fear in our Jewish communities.

"The new team will combine Met neighbourhood policing officers - who know their communities best - with dedicated specialist Met protection teams working around the clock to reassure and protect London’s Jewish communities.

"The Met Commissioner and I have set out a detailed proposal to the Government for a new, long-term approach.

"Working with the police and others, I am determined to bear down on antisemitism and ensure Jewish Londoners feel safe and are safe in our city.

"Alongside the police action we need a relentless approach to tackling all hate crime in London and we all have a role to play in calling out hate in all its forms to build a safer London for everyone."