Every school holiday brings the same warning to businesses: secure your sites.
Protecting buildings is only part of the challenge businesses now face. Increasingly, vacant and unsecured sites are attracting young people influenced by social media trends, urban exploration culture and online risk-taking behaviour.
Across the UK, social media trends, urban exploration culture and online “challenge” content are driving more young people towards empty buildings, construction sites and disused properties. What may begin as curiosity or content creation can quickly become something far more serious.
For site owners, the risks are obvious:
- Unauthorised access
- Arson, vandalism and theft
- Liability exposure
- Reputational damage
- Serious injury risks
But behind the statistics is a wider issue that businesses can no longer ignore.
During the 2026 Easter holiday alone, VPS recorded a 36% increase in youth-related site breaches compared with previous periods. Many of these incidents involved young people accessing dangerous environments with little understanding of the risks involved.
Unstable structures, exposed electrics, hazardous materials and unsafe industrial spaces can turn a moment of thrill-seeking into a life-changing incident.
Security remains critical – signage, monitored CCTV, perimeter fencing, rapid response and on-site guarding continue to play a vital role in protecting sites. But prevention increasingly means understanding why young people are entering these environments in the first place.
The trend reflects a wider challenge facing communities across the UK, with rising numbers of young people experiencing disconnection from education, employment and local support networks. Recent government data shows that more than one million young people are now not in education, employment or training (NEET) – the highest level in over a decade. (Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Through partnerships with organisations including Sport 4 Life UK, a leading youth charity and Oldham College, VPS is supporting initiatives designed to educate, engage and divert young people away from unsafe sites during school holidays and focus their curiosity on more meaningful ways. The approach combines physical protection with community engagement, youth education and social responsibility – recognising that safer sites and safer futures are closely connected.
This summer, VPS is bringing together senior leaders from Heineken and Stonegate Group, alongside youth engagement specialists, to explore the changing risks facing vacant sites and the practical, collaborative approaches organisations can take to respond more effectively.
The discussion will examine how social trends, online influence and changing community dynamics are creating new challenges for property owners, while exploring what meaningful collaboration between businesses, educators and community organisations can look like in practice.
The session will cover:
- The rise in youth-related site breaches
- The impact of social media and urban exploration culture
- Practical ways businesses can reduce risk during school holidays
- Why prevention, education and community engagement matter alongside physical security
- Examples of collaborative initiatives helping to create safer outcomes for young people and businesses alike
Because protecting sites today is no longer just about keeping people out – it is about preventing harm before it happens.
Register for the webinar to join the conversation.
Ready To Talk Security?
Discover practical ways to reduce site risks during school holidays and learn how collaboration, education and security can create safer outcomes.