Darling Downs police conduct 361 wandings amid knife crime crackdown

Darling Downs police have conducted 361 metal detection ‘wandings’ since July 18 following the expansion of knife prevention legislation Jack’s Law.

Darling Downs police are conducting up to 30 wand searches a day, with long-time officers horrified to find find some residents armed to the teeth with knives and meat cleavers.

Named in honour of 17-year-old Jack Beasley who was tragically stabbed to death in December 2019 during a night out in Surfers Paradise, Jacks Law gives police the power to use handheld metal detectors in high-risk locations without a warrant.

The recent expansion of Jack’s Law will now allow police to use wands in a wider range of public places where previously they were restricted to safe night precincts.

Darling Downs Superintendent Douglas McDonald said police had conducted 361 wandings in 12 days.

Between July 18-30 officers conducted 361 wandings throughout the district at various locations including shopping centres, licensed premises, and public areas.

On July 25 police were conducting patrols on Lamb Street in Murgon when outside a hotel they allegedly located a 41-year-old man in possession of two knives along with a replica handgun, drugs and drug utensils.

A 41-year-old Sunny Nook man was charged with two counts each of possess dangerous drugs, possess utensils or pipes and possession of a knife in a public place or a school.

He is due to appear in the Murgon Magistrates Court on 26 August.

“State-wide during this period more than 300 people have been charged on over 500 offences,” Mr McDonald said.

“It is a concern we are still locating weapons, the other day in Murgon we located a male person with a meat cleaver.

“We are seeing a range of weapons from small knives all the way up to machetes, another common thing we are finding is drugs and drug utensils.”

Belinda Beasley talks about Jack's Law in Townsville.

Superintendent McDonald said the laws had made it safer for officers to search people and the community response had been “overwhelmingly positive”.

“You will continue to see police in our shopping centres, around transport hubs and in other public places conducting these wanding operations,” he said.

“It expidiates our ability to conduct these searches and it’s a much safer way to it then actually physically searching people as well.

“We have issued wands to our front line police officers and when there is suspicion that someone may be carrying a weapon they can be used to get an early detection safely.

“Searches have been overwhelmingly positive, our officers explain the reason we are using the wands and the general public have been quite complementary.”

With the law now firmly in place Superintendent McDonald issued a stern warning for those who continued to carry weapons in public.

“Unfortunately we have seen way to often knives being used tragically in public places and people have lost their lives,” he said.

“This is a message to people who choose to do that, there will be more police out there utilising these wands

“They are used in maiming and killing and we have seen situations where a knife carried by someone is used against them.

“Too often we hear people are carrying them for self defence reasons and that is not an excuse.”

Originally published as Darling Downs police conduct 361 wandings amid knife crime crackdown