Golders Green councilor supports council grant to Jewish security group

The local Conservative group said it was “important” the council recognized the work of “critical charities”, reports Grace Howarth, local democracy reporter.

A Tory councilor has sponsored a £63,500 Barnet Council grant to an Orthodox Jewish security group based in north-west London.

The local Conservative group said it was “important” that the council recognized the work of “critical charities”.

Dean Cohen, ward councilor for Golders Green, sponsored the grant to enable Shomrim NW to operate. This follows a £45,000 grant he sponsored for Hatzolah NW.

Cllr Cohen said: “Supporting organizations like Shomrim NW and Hatzolah NW is vital to the wellbeing and safety of our community.

“Over the last decade we have seen a lot of community growth with new housing developments, particularly for the most vulnerable.”

Shomrim and Hatzolah are international volunteer organizations made up of local volunteers who provide a neighborhood watch service and a pre-hospital medical response respectively.

The north-west London branch, Shomrim NW, was set up in 2008 “following a large spate of burglaries and crime in the area”, according to its website.

The group operates mainly “but not exclusively” in Golders Green, Childs Hill, Hendon, Finchley and Temple Fortune.

Volunteers are generally unarmed and do not have the authority to make arrests beyond a citizen’s arrest.

Both groups work with emergency services and are funded by donations from the community and local area.

Independent news outlets like ours – which report for the community without wealthy backers – are under threat of closure, turning Britain’s cities into news deserts.

The public they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

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