Minns government’s knife crackdown keeps streets safer one year on from Bondi Junction attack

More than 100 knives, machetes and tasers have been removed from NSW streets since the Westfield attack in the Minns government’s crackdown on knife crime. The Sunday Telegraph follows police on a ‘wanding’ operation.

More than 100 knives, machetes and tasers have been seized from streets since the Westfield Bondi Junction attack in the state government’s crackdown on knife crime.

At least 7200 people have been scanned for weapons since new wanding powers rolled out in December, with NSW Police carrying out 46 high-visibility missions nearly every week through Operation Ares, it can be revealed.

Police have descended on train stations, bus stops, sporting venues and shopping centres across the state using handheld scanners or electronic metal detecting “wands” to scan people for dangerous weapons, leading to the arrests and charging of 99 people.

A recent operation at Westfield Bondi Junction in late March seized two knives and arrested four people, nearly one year after Joel Cauchi used a utility fixed blade to stab 16 people at the shopping centre, tragically killing six.

Of the four people arrested, two were charged with knife possession, one for breaching bail and another for drug possession across the Westfield shopping centre, Bondi Bus interchange, and Bondi Junction railway station on March 21.

NSW Police wand random people at Hurstville. No one pictured in this story was carrying weapons or doing anything wrong. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Bondi Junction is one of a number of locations declared a “designated area” for wanding operations to target weapon hotspots, based on intelligence gathered during the last 12 months

Designated areas, including sites in Wagga Wagga, Blacktown and Bomaderry, allow officers to scan anyone for weapons without a warrant in a 12-hour period.

The wanding operations have occurred almost every week since the extra police powers were rolled out in December. None of those pictured were carrying weapons or doing anything wrong. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The Sunday Telegraph was given a glimpse into the latest wanding operation, conducted at Hurstville shopping precinct on Thursday, following along as shoppers were scanned with detectors. Similar operations took place simultaneously at Westfield Miranda and Blacktown.

Police scanned 1263 people, seized seven weapons and charged 14 people across the three locations within the 12-hour window.

The crackdown comes after the Minns government passed laws in June last year to give police extra wanding powers, following the Bondi attack and months of escalating knife crime, modelled on Jack’s Law in Queensland.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the 116 weapons seized since wanding powers came into effect had made NSW a “safer place”.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley (centre) lays flowers at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Monique Harmer

“Too many innocent people have experienced the devastating effects of knife crime first-hand,” Ms Catley said.

“Last year, the NSW government took decisive action to help prevent further horrific incidents involving knives and dangerous weapons.

“Police are in the community day in, day out helping to make NSW a safer place and I cannot thank them enough for their tireless efforts.
“Everybody deserves to feel safe in public and it’s clear that our knife laws are working, and making NSW a safer place.”

Alongside Operation Ares, the Youth Crime Command has been working closely with the Beasley Foundation, from Queensland, to deliver a presentation on the new laws to 20 NSW schools.

The parents of Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed at Surfers Paradise in 2019 at the age of 17, started the foundation to educate young people about the dangers of knife crime.

Wanding powers in Queensland are named in his honour and helped push for similar legislation in NSW.

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