The knife crime epidemic is out of control (Image: Katie Collins/Press Association)
Operation Shutdown, a group of parents who have lost children in knife attacks, want an extra 20,000 police on Britain's streets and thugs caught carrying blades to face automatic prison sentences.
Their call comes in the wake of the knife murders of Girl Scout Jodie Chesney and grammar school pupil Yousef Makki, both 17, at the weekend.
Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday claimed there is no direct link between falling officer numbers and rising violent crime as ministers faced growing criticism over their handling of the crisis.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid will meet police chiefs tomorrow to discuss the crisis, where they are expected to demand extra resources to fight violent crime.
But yesterday former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe has called for the Government to reverse police cuts and put 20,000 officers back on the street.
Sajid Javid speaking in the House of Commons about knife crime (Image: Press Association)
He said: "You want to know day-by-day what's going to get delivered. And I don't get that sense of grip. If it's not treated as a crisis, it take another two years before we see action."
Campaigners from Operation Shutdown said: "We are astutely aware of current legislation, practices, initiatives and strategies. We believe that none of it goes far enough.
"We won't be fobbed off by being told enough is being done when we know from first-hand experience, that this is not the case."
The group said an independent inquiry into school exclusions should be set up to examine how many children turn to a life of crime after being barred from the classroom.
Experts fear gangs are able to groom children at Pupil Referral Units and those not receiving a proper education.
They also want knife sentencing laws to be reviewed, with calls growing for those caught illegally carrying blades to face an immediate prison sentence.
A victim's law should also be created to give families better support from services such as counselling, they said.
A protest is to be held in central London on April 17 organised by Operation Shutdown to allow bereaved parents to tell their stories and to send a message to ministers about the scale of the crisis.
Youth worker Lucy Martindale, one of the main organisers, said: "It is a national emergency and it is like a war zone on our streets.
"We don't believe the Government is taking it seriously enough. Schools can't handle the children, exclude them, and when they can't get into another school, they hit the street and they are being groomed, mostly by older children.
"The police are not monitoring these people who are doing the grooming. There are no resources."
Tracey Hanson, 54, whose son Josh, 21, was stabbed to death in a west London bar, said: "There are more unprovoked attacks and it is a reflection of our society. You know what is going to happen if you drive a car without tax or insurance. There are clear consequences. We need a similar approach to violent crime.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Force Graham McNulty (Image: REUTERS/Toby Melville)
"We need more police, and we need more bobbies on the beat. We are trying to remedy a situation caused by a lack of police."
A Scotland Yard chief said its Violent Crime Task Force is cancelling rest days and working longer shifts to cope with the crisis.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty said: "We have had a tragic 10 days in London. I can't magic officers out of thin air.
"We are lucky we have got officers who are professional and committed and want to make a difference. They are working hard under difficult circumstances."
Theresa May said: "If you look at the figures, what you see is that there's no direct correlation between certain crimes and police numbers. What matters is how we ensure that police are responding to these criminal acts when they take place. But what also matters is, as a Government, that we look at the issues which underpin, that underlie, this use of knives and that we act on those."
The heartbroken family of murdered teenager Jodie Chesney insisted "enough is enough" yesterday and demanded action on knife violence, writes David Pilditch.
Relatives spoke out after the sixth former and Girl Scout was killed when a stranger plunged a knife into her back.
Amid emotional scenes her father Peter and other relatives yesterday visited the spot where the teenager was killed.
Police were last night still hunting the attacker who fled with an accomplice after stabbing Jodie, 17, in front of friends in a park in Harold Hill, Essex.
Her grandmother Debbie Chesney, 73, issued a direct plea to the killer, his family and friends to come forward.
Jodie Chesney became the latest victim of the knife epidemic (Image:
