Theresa May has warned it needs more than just extra police to tackle Britain's knife crime epidemic as she attempts to use every arm of the state to cut the number of stabbings.
The Prime Minister insisted 'we cannot simply arrest ourselves' out of the problem following the first meeting of a summit on the issue at Downing Street this morning.
More than 100 experts are meeting after the Government unveiled new plans which could see frontline workers in schools, hospitals and police stations accountable for failing to 'spot warning signs' of violent crime among young people.
It comes after another week of carnage on the streets of Britain, with 14 knifings in just five days nationwide and four people attacked 'at random' in north London over the weekend.
Theresa May today opened a summit on Britain's spiralling knife crime epidemic this morning
The meeting came after a weekend of fresh carnage on London's streets, with four victims stabbed in unprovoked 'random' attacks in Edmonton in the north of the capital
Home Secretary Sajid Javid floated the idea of a so-called 'public health duty' intended to help spot the warning signs that a young person could be in danger, 'such as presenting in A&E with a suspicious injury, to worrying behaviour at school or issues at home'.
The new 'public health' approach will see Mr Javid launch a consultation today that would impose legal duties on public bodies such as schools and hospitals.
It would be very similar to the system in Glasgow, formerly the knife crime capital of Europe, where stab wounds have halved in 12 years.
It also mirrors the anti-terrorism Prevent strategy, set up in 2006, which is used to identify youngsters at risk of being sucked into extremism.
Under the Glasgow model, gang members and those at risk of joining gangs are referred to violence reduction units. There, they are offered mentoring by someone with similar experiences of violence or given opportunities to further their education.
Doctors are invited into schools to show graphic images of knife wounds and pupils are also taught about the tough sentences for violent crimes.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Met Police Commissioner were among those attending
A map showing the latest spate of stabbings in the UK including the four in North London over the weekend
A consultation in England and Wales will assess the extent to which those on the front line will be held to account for failing to prevent a young person getting involved in violence, a Home Office spokesman said.
Mrs May is hosting the serious youth violence summit from Monday, with experts including Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, Patrick Green from the Ben Kinsella Trust, and Baroness Newlove, the Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales, whose husband Garry was beaten to death by a gang vandalising his car in 2007.
Opening the event, she said: 'In the recent months we know we have seen an appalling number of young lives cut short or devastated by serious violent crime, including of course a number of horrifying incidents that took place just over this weekend.
'As we look at what's happened, of course what we also see is that in many cases the perpetrators of these crimes are as young as their victims and this is something that has to be something of deep concern to us all.'
More than 100 experts are meeting after the Government unveiled new knife crime plans
The Prime Minister said the problem affects 'us collectively as a society' and must be tackled in a 'co-ordinated' way.
'Of course we will always make sure that the resources and tools are there to be able to apprehend and deal with those who are carrying and using knives and that the police have what they need to do,' she said.
'But we cannot simply arrest ourselves out of this problem.
'This is a wider problem, it is more deep-seated and we have to have a more coordinated effort.'
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