£251m policing package to strengthen protection for Jewish communities

The government has announced a £251 million policing package to strengthen protection for Jewish communities following a series of violent and targeted antisemitic attacks.

The three-year investment will fund more than 500 additional officers across England and Wales, increase visible policing around Jewish neighbourhoods, schools, synagogues and community centres, and strengthen national counter-terrorism capabilities.

The funding follows a bid to the Home Office from the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Metropolitan Police after a period of sustained community tension and rising antisemitic hate crime.

The announcement also follows the raising of the national terror threat level from substantial to severe.

Police funding to protect Jewish communities

The funding package includes £86 million for the Metropolitan Police, supporting around 300 additional officers in London, and more than £22 million for Greater Manchester Police, supporting around 80 additional officers.

A further £43 million will be distributed across Hertfordshire, Essex, Northumbria, Sussex, Thames Valley, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, all areas with significant Jewish communities.

The package also includes £41 million for national policing coordination and increased antisemitism capabilities. This will support antisemitism training for all officers in England and Wales, strengthen investigations and provide surge resources to protect Jewish communities across the country.

Counter-Terrorism Police will receive £59 million to bolster protective security and counter state threats.

The funding will also support the continuation of Project Servator in Greater Manchester and London for a further three years. The programme uses specialist and plain-clothes officers trained to identify suspicious behaviour and prevent serious crime.

Antisemitic hate crime requires stronger response, says NPCC

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the NPCC, said antisemitic hate crime in the UK remains “unacceptably common” and is having a deeply corrosive effect on Jewish communities.

He said the funding would allow policing to keep communities safe, improve feelings of safety and bring offenders to justice.

“Jewish communities are telling us that they don’t feel safe,” he said. “They’re telling us that the threat feels real and immediate. It’s on the doorstep of their homes, their places of worship and where their children go to school.

“That simply cannot be tolerated.”

Stephens said traditional reassurance-led policing was no longer sufficient in the current environment, adding that the funding would support a stronger focus on protective security, deterrence and maintaining trust and confidence.

Police forces nationwide will also be able to draw on an additional 100,000 officer hours per year, while specialised intelligence, investigative and coordination functions will be increased inside and outside London.

Counter-terrorism capability to be strengthened

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor said the announcement was “hugely welcome” at a time when the terrorist threat level had increased and policing was operating at “an incredibly high tempo”.

He said the additional funding would support work to counter the full spectrum of threats to national security, while also helping policing tackle antisemitism alongside local forces and the wider criminal justice system.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the rise in antisemitism in recent years was “a test of our values as a country” and that the funding would deliver a “step-change in protection and policing”.

The government said the package builds on a £25 million fund announced earlier this year to provide immediate protection for Jewish communities, as well as wider work on antisemitism in education, healthcare, online safety and community cohesion.

The government is also delivering £32.4 million in 2026-27 for protective security at Jewish sites, including synagogues, schools and community centres.