Our Youth Are Dying Where Is the Emergency Response?

Every day, young lives are being lost on the way to school, in parks, at the shops—on our streets. The question is: how much longer are we going to accept this as normal? Are we just going to talk, blame, and scroll past another headline—or are we going to act?

Our young people are being preyed upon and lost to a system that is failing them. They are being groomed, exploited, stabbed, shot, trafficked, and exposed to extreme violence. Many are battling mental health issues, pressures from social media, the care system, homelessness, and a police force they don’t trust.

This isn’t a local issue. It’s a nationwide emergency.

We are calling for:

A National COBRA Emergency Meeting – and Monthly COBRA Reviews

The Prime Minister must call an immediate COBRA meeting to tackle this crisis head-on and implement life-saving interventions. It needs urgent leadership, accountability, and monthly progress reviews.

Immediate Life-Saving Measures While We Build Long-Term Solutions

It takes just 3–5 minutes to bleed to death from a catastrophic injury. In most cases, ambulances take longer than that to arrive—sometimes up to 15 minutes. That gap is the difference between life and death.

We must act now:

• Emergency Daniel Baird bleed control kits should be legally required in all public spaces: schools, libraries, community centres, shopping centres, pubs, and clubs. These kits are proven to save lives and empower communities to step in when seconds count.

• First aid, bleed control, and self-defence training must be part of the national curriculum in all UK schools.

• Metal detector wands in every school and college to prevent weapons from being brought in—an initiative Sadiq Khan began four years ago but was never fully rolled out.

We Need Patrols – But They Must Be Community Led

Families have told us again and again they want safe passage for children going to and from school, hanging out in parks, or simply being outside.

But trust in the police is broken . The solution? Community led patrols supported by the Police - partnerships that work together to rebuild trust, protect young people, and take back our streets.

A Nationwide Gang Truce

In Glasgow, violence dropped significantly after communities came together for a gang truce. It’s time we took the same bold step in London and beyond. We need to bring everyone to the table and put peace on the agenda.

A New National Strategy to Protect Our Youth

The government is failing in its duty to protect children from:

• Knife and gun crime

• County lines exploitation

• Criminal and sexual abuse

• Homelessness and violence

Exploitation is hiding in plain sight. We need a new, fully funded national strategy to protect and empower young people—supporting them not just to survive, but to succeed in life.

This call echoes the recommendations of the Commission on Young Lives’ report (November 2022). We need leadership that listens, acts, and delivers.

We’re Not Asking. We’re Demanding.

It’s time for the UK government to treat this with the urgency it demands. We’ve lost too many. We cannot afford to lose more.

Join us. sign the petition . Share this. Demand the change.