Six knives detected from 500+ scans in wanding rollout across Brisbane, Gold Coast and Townsville
Nearly 600 people were scanned with knife-detecting wands across Queensland at the weekend, with several blades found in a “concerning” trend.
Police & Courts
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Lives have potentially been saved after multiple knives were taken off Queensland streets at the weekend, in the rollout of new wanding laws cracking down on bladed weapons.
Across the state, six knives were detected and seized from 586 scans across four days.
On the Gold Coast 387 people were scanned and two knives found, in Brisbane 146 people were scanned and three knives seized, and in Townsville 53 people were scanned and one knife found.
The new legislation, dubbed Jack’s law, was passed in Parliament last week, and gives officers the power to conduct searches with metal-detecting wands in all Safe Night precincts and on public transport in the state.
Regional Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Wheeler said he was pleased with the results, but people still were not getting the message.
“A success really would be (to find) none,” Mr Wheeler said.
“We know that we could have saved lives just over the weekend, or at least an escalation of what could have been a physical interaction which could have turned absolutely tragic with the use of a knife.”
The new laws are an expansion of a trial on the Gold Coast, spurred on by the death of Jack Beasley, who was stabbed in Surfers Paradise in 2019.
Three of those knives, which included folded and standard knives, were taken from people in party precincts such as the Valley, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.
But “concerningly”, three were also found on people at transport hubs, including two at Fortitude Valley train station in Brunswick St.
It comes nine months after Lauie Michael Tagaloa, 24, was killed after being stabbed with a pair of scissors during a clash between two groups in the same train station in July last year.
Mr Wheeler said knife crime was a major concern for police.
“Self-defence is not a reasonable excuse to carry a knife,” he said.
“The choices you make can impact your life for the remainder of it.
“And it can also have devastating consequences for you, your family and your friends.”
Mr Wheeler said police received a positive reception from most people who were scanned, with some even approaching police.
“This is not a confrontational process. It’s a very quick process, particularly when you explain the background… I think that resonated with a lot of people, and it’s probably helped them understand,” Mr Wheeler said.
“I think most people, most reasonable people, would look at this and understand that this is just about creating a safe night-time environment.
“And as a parent myself, that’s what I want for my children when they’re out and about enjoying party precincts.”
Mr Wheeler said Queenslanders could expect to see wanding happening every weekend where appropriate.
In addition to the six counts of possessing a knife in a public place, police laid dozens more unrelated charges in the weekend blitz.
Those caught carrying a knife in a public place risk a $5750 fine or one year in prison.
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