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One of the individuals hurt during the recent violent incident at a Jewish place of worship in Manchester was working with the CST, an organization praised for preventing an even worse atrocity.

Familiar Sight of Helpers

The appearance of helpers in the organization's hi-vis vests has become a familiar presence at Hebrew places of worship, schools, and other locations in recent years.

For decades, the organization has also shaped public policy by monitoring and combating antisemitism, while also addressing hostility towards other communities.

Rising Anti-Jewish Offenses

In the two years since the October 7th, 2023 attacks in Israel and the beginning of the war in Gaza, the charity's staffing has increased by approximately 33% amid a surge in anti-Jewish crimes.

According to government statistics, there were over three thousand faith-based offenses aimed at Jewish people in the year to March 2024, an increase from around 1,500 in the prior 12 months.

Additional statistics from the organization itself, based on the count of antisemitic incidents notified to the group, documented 1,521 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of the current year.

Graph shows mean count of hate crimes recorded per 10,000 people, grouped by the perceived religion of the affected individual.

Established Recording and Training

Although it attained charity status in the mid-1990s, the Community Security Trust and its forerunners have been recording and releasing antisemitic incident figures in the UK since 1984.

Currently, its activities involve over a hundred employees and 2,000 committed volunteers who receive intensive instruction in subjects ranging from emergency medical care to performing protective duties.

While its volunteers have been injured in the past, the severe injuries to one of its personnel in Manchester is believed to be the most serious to date.

Leadership Response and Security Measures

"Our thoughts are for his continuing recovery and commend the courage of all those who assisted in halting the terrorist from getting into the synagogue," said the organization's top leader.

The CST presence at sites often includes a combination of its own volunteers, such as trained congregants, as well as contracted protection officers.

Being a beneficiary of funding from the government, the trust allocates an 18 million pound public funds that pays for professional security services.

These were deployed last year at locations encompassing two hundred nurseries, 260 synagogues, and fifty prominent community facilities.

The CST itself relies on donations.

Broader Initiatives and Partnerships

Not as apparent is the trust's broader efforts in education, providing security guidance, and its established study into anti-Jewish sentiment from origins such as far-right extremists and radical Islamists.

Its work in this area have led to cases including the imprisonment in 2021 of a individual who was then one of the UK’s most active far-right anti-Jewish online broadcasters.

National security forces were notified about his actions by the organization.

The charity also collaborates extensively with allies including Tell Mama – the national project that documents and measures anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, and which has described the CST’s work as "innovative."

Both are in a formal partnership with other anti-prejudice groups as part of the CATCH alliance.

Additional Programs and Public Engagement

CST’s work, which different groups have drawn on, also encompasses its manual for protective measures for religious sites.

Additionally, it runs customized teen safety programs for adolescents in partnership with Maccabi GB, under the Streetwise programme.

Other work involves partnerships with the police and with elected officials, while it holds frequent meetings with government representatives and contributes to government policy on antisemitism.

While the CST works across the Jewish community, an organization called a community watch organization also tracks anti-Jewish sentiment and works on behalf of Haredi Jewish groups.