British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 590

CHAPTER XV.

17. The events of 1936 brought into being a new police formation which has become a regular element in the police establishment and materially affects the problem of ensuring the protection of the Jewish rural community. This formation is the Jewish Settlement Police. Before 1936 there were no supernumerary or other Jewish settlement police employed in dispositions for the close protection of Jewish settlements. For this purpose sealed armouries were provided in Jewish colonies. The defence schemes then operative generally required that, in the event of an attack, the settlers would collect in a bullet proof house where the sealed armory was kept. An alarm signal was communicated to the nearest police formation by telephone or verey light or rocket. In answer to the alarm signal British police were despatched to the scene, the sealed armoury was opened and the arms were distributed to those competent to use them.

18. In order to secure adequate dispositions for the protection of Jewish settlements, a scheme was put into effect during 1036 which allowed for fixed establishments of active and reserve classes of supernumerary police. Thia scheme remained operative until the 6th December, 1938. The Jewish supernumerary police were organized in four categories, viz :-

CATEGORY A. An active class employed and maintained at authorised establishment.

CATEGORY B. A reserve class available to be called upon for duty at short notice.

CATEGORY C. A reserve class available for duty at twenty-four hours notice.

CATEGORY D. A reserve class for supplying reinforcements to

categories A, Band C.

The A class supernumerary police received half their salary from Government and half from the Jewish Agency, and, on embodiment. the B and C classes likewise received half salary from Government while retained on active employment. At a later stage the Government paid in full the salaries of category A and also those of other categories called np for active employment. The high water mark of active paid supernumeraries of classes A, B and C was reached in 1937 when the number employed totalled 2,700. The total number of firearms available in Jewish settlements for defence purposes was, at this stage, 3,746 rifles and 596 Greener guns.

19. In September, 1938, a small committee was appointed to examine the defence of Jewish settlements. As a result the four categories of supernumerary police then employed on defence

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