Are you worried about knife crime? So are we.

Anyone who has seen the TV footage of Hayley Ryall, mother of murdered teenager, Mikey Roynon recently cannot help but have been moved by her account of how knife crime cut short her son’s life and has devasted her family.  We all want to be able to enjoy evenings with friends, and most of the time, adults and teens alike can do that safely, but the reality is that knife crime continues to be a pressing issue across the UK. In 2023, offences involving a knife climbed to more than 50,000 in the UK for only the third time in the last fifteen years – a 4.7% increase from 2022.

What Mikey’s story reminds us is that these figures are far from just numbers on a page; they represent lives lost, families torn apart, and communities left in turmoil. And Mikey’s is not the only upsetting story. There have been so many tragic and alarming cases in the past year, often involving young people who should have had their lives ahead of them.

Reducing the impact

While police and campaigners focus on tackling the causes and incidence of knife crime, our priority at RAPAID is reducing the potential impact of these terrible incidents and saving lives. In the crucial minutes following a stabbing, a person can bleed out quickly – typically in just three minutes – meaning immediate help is essential to save lives. The emergency bandage kits we’ve installed in taxis, and the proactive steps taken by venues, tourists attractions and security specialists to have our kits on hand ensure vital first aid is available so that those on the scene can #stopthebleed until professional medical services arrive.

But we need more. As a charity, we rely on donations to fund the kits we install in taxis and every penny donated at rapaid.org/support is ploughed back into making and distributing more kits. The funds raised from every kit sold by our online shop, also boosts the funds we raise to provide more kits.

Not all lives can be saved following these horrific incidents, but it’s possible that individuals who have access to an emergency bandage kit to stop the bleed could make all the difference. Equipping bystanders and first responders with equipment to act immediately empowers them to intervene and provide life-saving assistance, rather than feeling helpless in the face of a crisis. By ensuring that more people have access to these essential kits, we can make a significant impact on reducing the devastating consequences of knife crime.

RAPAID and the work we are doing to put our emergency bandages kits into cabs and public places is only one aspect of the work being done to reduce the impact of knife crime and other threats that could cause a catastrophic bleed. We applaud the work being done by other bleed kit charities, together we are working towards a safer future, and the more of us there are out there doing something, the more lives can potentially be saved.

To date, RAPAID have successfully donated over 5,000 emergency bandage kits, installing kits in cabs in Manchester, Swindon, Oxford and now London. With the support of TfL and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA), the charity aims to equip 7,500 London cabs with its life-saving bandages. To help them achieve this goal and support the important work they do, please consider making a donation today: https://rapaid.org/donate/