'If we fail, young people will die': How new initiative will tackle knife crime in West Yorkshire

A new initiative aimed at reducing knife crime and serious violence among young people has launched in West Yorkshire.

Led by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and their Violence Reduction Partnership, the ‘Keep the Door Open’ campaign focuses on the long-term consequences of carrying a knife and delivers an empowering message to young people that their future is literally in their hands.

The campaign will seek to bring together the police, local councils, community organisations and other partners to tackle the root causes of violence, not just respond to it after the fact.

Speaking exclusively to the Yorkshire Evening Post ahead of tonight’s launch, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in West Yorkshire, Alison Lowe issued an impassioned plea for adults to do more to protect young people.

“This is all about the lives that are needlessly lost on our streets,” Deputy Mayor Lowe said. “I don’t want to see another young person killed on our streets, another life lost through ignorance and a lack of action. We need to protect our young people.

“We have to ensure this strategy works because if we fail, then young people will die, and I don’t want that on my conscience. This is a call to every single adult in our communities of West Yorkshire to step up and step in to this strategy. Take ownership, take responsibility and help us.”

The campaign is set to be launched at Wakefield’s CAPA College tonight (Wednesday, May 27) alongside the ‘People’s Strategy’ for tackling serious violence, and is the culmination of a year’s work, hearing from local people about the profound impact serious violence has on victims, families, and communities.

Based on 5,000 responses to a public consultation, key themes include tackling knife crime, the impact of gangs and organised crime, and reducing violence against women and girls.

West Yorkshire Police recently launched their Pol-Ed initiative. Developed by educational professionals, Pol-Ed aims to reduce knife crime by helping schools teach children from the earliest years how to stay safe, resolve conflict, and make positive choices.

The strategy will also work in unison with the Government’s Young Futures Hubs, a network of 50 hubs nationwide aimed at providing joined-up support for young people. Barca Leeds in Bramley will be one of the first of eight cities to open such a site.

“We’re doing a huge amount already but everything is WYCA ‘s doing this, police are doing that etc,” Deputy Mayor Lowe added. “But by doing it together you have better impact and hopefully the opportunities for children and young people will improve.

“We’ve had good outcomes but we need better outcomes because when we get it wrong, children and young people suffer, and sometimes they die. That’s not acceptable to me and that’s not acceptable to the Mayor, so we need to do more.”

The Violence Reduction Partnership and its partners across West Yorkshire have supported more than 16,000 young people under 25 and almost 1,000 adults since April 2025, and the region has seen a reduction of 11.3 per cent in record knife crime over the last year.

Despite this overall reaction, Leeds and West Yorkshire has been rocked by some high profile deaths among young people in recent years, including the death of 16-year-old Chloe Watson Dransfield, who was killed by a stab wound to the chest in March.

Alfie Milburn, who was found guilty of the manslaughter of 19-year-old Harry Abbott following a gang revenge attack in Seacroft last year, is due to be sentenced on Monday, June 1.