Jack’s Law: Knife-detection wands roll out in Brisbane and Townsville on Saturday
Revellers at nightclub precincts in Brisbane and Townsville will be the first searched for weapons under unprecedented new police powers rolling out across the state to crackdown on knife-crime.
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Revellers at nightclub precincts in Brisbane and Townsville will be the first searched for weapons under unprecedented new police powers rolling out across the state to crack down on knife crime.
Police armed with metal detector wands will be patrolling safe night precincts in Fortitude Valley and Townsville between 6pm and 6am this Saturday.
It will be the first time the new laws — dubbed Jack’s Law after the horrific stabbing death of 17-year-old Jack Beasley in 2019 — will expand beyond the Gold Coast.
Police will now have powers to use the wands to search people for weapons without suspicion in Queensland’s 15 safe night precincts and public transport stations, including buses, trains and ferries.
If caught carrying a knife in a public place, you risk a $5,750 fine and/or one year in prison.
Governor-general Jeannette Young assented it into law on April 2 – what would have been Jack’s 21st birthday — after the bill was passed in parliament on Thursday.
Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Wheeler said police chose to kick off the expanded trial across Fortitude Valley’s safe night precinct and train station after a 24-year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death in 2022.
Police data shows 328 people in the Fortitude Valley safe night precinct have been charged with possessing a knife in a public place over the last five years.
Police in Townsville have also been uncovering weapons along the Flinders Street party strip, with 114 people charged over the same period.
“We were very keen to see it roll out in a regional area, and this will be the first time in history that this is being done in a regional area outside of the Gold Coast,” Commissioner Wheeler said.
“We were keen to start here to send a strong message to the community and people coming into those areas.
“Number one is simply don’t carry a weapon, and secondly, if your in those areas, and you’re a law-abiding citizen just going about your business, you have nothing to be scared of.”
He said the wand search was a “quick, non-intrusive process” where a police officer, generally of the same gender, will stop you and scan a wand over the body.
“It will vibrate if it picks up any metal, and the person will be asked to declare what they have,” he said.
“In the instance of someone refusing point blank to co-operate, police have the power to detain and search under the normal legislation.
“The whole interaction is recorded on police body-worn camera and safe city CCTV so it all happens transparently.”
“(Jack’s law) is probably the strongest law we’ve ever been given in our history, and that’s why we’ve got to make sure when we run this two-year trial, we get it right because we want to make sure it goes into law permanently.”
He said under the new laws, senior police will also be able to use them across public transport.
“For example, if we had intelligence there had been, what we call triggering offences over the last six months … we could declare an operation at the Stockland bus terminal for a 12-hour period and scan people as they came off,” he said.
“We could also get on the bus and scan people until the bus’ next stop in any direction.”
Almost 23,000 scans were conducted, and 266 weapons were seized on the Gold Coast during the initial two-year trial of Jack’s Law.
Commissioner Wheeler said some weapons they found included hunting knives, knuckle dusters, axes, a machete, and a bush saw.
“A fistfight is bad enough, but when someone produces a bladed weapon, the chance of death is very, very high,” he said.
“When we saw Jack Beasley lose his life, it was simply an interaction between two groups of young men.
“Things escalated very quickly, and within seconds, we had a 17-year-old boy dead on the footpath.
“In the blink of an eye, a young man’s life was lost, his whole future was gone, his family were devastated, and his friends were devastated.
“Where we can detect knives, we can save lives.”
Commissioner Wheeler was the district officer on the Gold Coast at the time of Jack’s death, and worked closely with his parents.
He said emotions were high as he sat with them in the parliamentary gallery when the laws passed last Thursday.
“To sit there with Brett and Belinda as the law passed and to see all the members in parliament look up and applaud the Beasleys was an emotional time,” he said.
“One thing that I’ll never forget in my career is when I know a law will protect Queenslanders and visitors to our state, you know it’s a good thing, and you put your heart and soul into it.”
Police Minister Mark Ryan said he had “no doubt these powers will save lives and reduce violence on our streets”.
“I want to commend Brett and Belinda Beasley,” he said.
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Originally published as Jack’s Law: Knife-detection wands roll out in Brisbane and Townsville on Saturday
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