The Jewish Supernumerary Police (sometimes referred to as Jewish Auxiliary Police) (Hebrew: Shotrim Musafim) were a branch of the Guards (Notrim) set up by the British in Mandate Palestine in June 1936. Around 22,000 Notrim were appointed, armed and equipped by the British to act as a protective militia for Jewish settlements. This force "soon became a legal cover for the Haganah and an increasingly effective shield against Arab forays".[1]
The British authorities gradually expanded the Supernumerary Police from 6,000 to 14,000. Those trained became the nucleus of the Haganah,[2] which itself became the main constituent of the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
The other branch of the Notrim was an élite mobile force known as the Jewish Settlement Police.