Knife detectors for police could be a magic wand on stabbings

The NSW Police Association has added its weight to growing calls for the state government to give police officers powers to use metal detection wands to search for weapons.

The NSW Police Association has added its weight to growing calls for the state government to adopt legislation giving police officers powers to use metal detection wands to search people in the streets and on public transport for any weapons.

In three years since Queensland introduced the legislation, about 55,000 people have been searched, leading to some 800 weapons being confiscated and 1400 people charged with 2500 offences.

The knife-detecting wand as used by Queensland police. Picture: Queensland Police

Brett Beasley, who created the legislation after his 17-year-old son Jack was fatally stabbed, urged NSW to follow suit in the wake of the Bondi and Wakeley attacks.

“It’s worked in another state so why wouldn’t it work here,” NSW Police Association President Kevin Morton told The Sunday Telegraph.

“The police hierarchy talk about prevention and disruption. We’ve already got laws in place with sufficient penalties, subject to magistrates enforcing them, and this is a disruption measure that can provide our members with another tool to keep the community safe and we are all for it.”

The use of metal detectors or “wands” was already a common practice at large concerts, some pubs and a number of other venues with large gatherings of people.

“In light of the two incidents we’ve seen at Bondi Junction and the place of worship, it’s time to try to get on the front foot of the issue and we are of the belief the wands would be a handy tool for all of our police officers,” he said.

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