Police to use metal-detecting wands on Glitter Strip to stop weapons entering Safe Night Precinct in new trial

Police will be given new powers to help stamp out knife crime following a spate of stabbing deaths in the city.

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POLICE Minister Mark Ryan has defended the time it took to trial the use of handheld metal detectors at random on the Glitter Strip, saying the changing of laws needs to be done in a measured way.

Police and community leaders spruiked the random use of scanning wands in the days after the stabbing death of 17-year-old Jack Beasley in Surfers Paradise 14 months ago.

It never happened. Instead, young crooks have continued to terrorise residents on the streets and at public transport hubs, and by stealing cars.

Asked on Thursday why it took 14 months to act on the proposal, Mr Ryan said: “When you change laws, you’ve got to do things in a measured responsible way. You have to look at the evidence and the government has made the decision that it stacks up to run a trial.”

The state government announced this week that police would be given the powers at “high-risk” times at night and in the early hours of the morning as part of its crackdown on youth crime.

The finer details of the trial are yet to be finalised.

The devices have been used in party precincts and on the G-Link since December, but new laws, to be put to parliament later this month, would remove the need for police to need suspicion to conduct a search.

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The new wand. Picture: Tertius Pickard

The powers – unveiled as part of a suite of measures aimed at curbing the youth crime crisis – come following five stabbing deaths on the Gold Coast.

Assistant commissioner Brian Wilkins with constable Brianna Biles, left, and senior constable Jacqui Hunt, right, during a press conference about a wanding trial to be established in Safe Night Precincts. Picture: Tertius Pickard.

Gold Coast Police Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler said additional devices would be purchased, for about $300 each, to ensure that all officers within the safe night precinct had access to the handheld wands. It’s not known how many devices the district currently has.

He said about one-third of knife crime on the Gold Coast in 2020 was committed by juveniles and it was hoped the new powers would deter people from carrying weapons.

“Carrying a knife in a public place, or carrying a knife as a young person is so incredibly dangerous,” Supt Wheeler. “You run the risk of ending someone else’s life, and destroying your own life forever. The difference between a minor injury and a fatality is about a millimetre. There is no room for error.”

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Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler during a press conference about a wanding trial to be established in Safe Night Precincts. Picture: Tertius Pickard.

Supt Wheeler said anyone could be targeted during the high risk times within the safe night precincts at Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

“What I would say is we have to be responsible with this power; this isn’t just a power that we will use ad hoc because we think it’s great. This will be very specific, it’ll be targeted. But where we have any doubts about someone, we will have that authority to conduct those searches.”

Mr Ryan said he was hopeful the trial would succeed.

“We need to perfect it before we roll it out. This is a new power for police, and we have to make sure that not only the power is used responsibly but it delivers on the outcomes, which is obviously enhancing community safety,” he said.

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