Tough new laws in NSW to combat knife crime

New laws modelled on Queensland’s ‘Jack’s Law’ will give NSW police power to scan suspects for knives without a warrant in transport hubs, shopping centres and party spots.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Police in NSW will have the power to scan or “wand” people for knives without a warrant in designated areas such as transport hubs, shopping centres and other crowded places, under new laws to be introduced by the Minns government in the wake of the Westfield stabbing and the Wakeley terror attack.

The legislation will be modelled on Queensland’s “Jack’s Law” and will be available to police for up to 12 hours at a time, targeting areas including nightlife and entertainment precincts, where knife crime has increased within the previous six months.

It will be illegal to sell knives to a child under the age of 18 – up from the previous age of 16 – with exemptions for retailers selling to young people who need a knife for their work or study. Penalties for illegal sales will increase.

Jack’s Law was introduced in Queensland in response to the death of 17-year-old Jack Beasley in 2019 in a random stabbing ­attack. It allows police to use a metal detecting wand in operations in declared safe night precincts, at public transit hubs and on public transport.

More than 500 weapons were confiscated in the first year of Jack’s Law, ranging from kitchen and butcher’s knives to tomahawks, hammers and knuckle dusters, during operations in which 51,000 individuals were scanned, with 1369 arrests.

Scans take a minute or two and require no physical contact by police officers.

Currently in NSW, “stop and search” powers are restricted, with police only permitted to search a person if it’s believed they are “likely” to be carrying a weapon. 

Details of the new wanding laws, which will be “adapted for the NSW context”, are yet to be ­finalised ahead of legislation to be introduced to parliament.

Police wanding operations under Jack’s Law in Queensland. Picture Queensland Police

The reforms come on top of a doubling of the maximum penalties for various knife-related ­offences in 2023 and police operations such as Operation Foil in April which led to 145 people charged with weapon-related ­offences and 51 knives seized.

Over the last year, almost 4000 knives were seized in public places.

NSW is still reeling from the deaths of six people in a horrific stabbing rampage by 40-year-old Joel Cauchi at the Westfield Bondi Junction last month, and the terror attack by a 16-year-old at Wakeley, western Sydney, that left Assyrian bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel without an eye.

Premier Chris Minns said the reforms sent a strong message about the seriousness of knife-­related violence and the government’s commitment to take immediate proactive steps to prevent future tragedies.

“In recent weeks and months, we have all borne witness to the devastating outcomes of knife- ­related violence,” Mr Minns said.

“I know that many in our community have followed the devastating media coverage and heard the stories of victims and families – tragically there have been so many recent examples.”

“Our communities are still in mourning, but it’s essential that we step up to take immediate action to send a clear message that NSW will simply not accept these kinds of crimes.”

Brett and Belinda Beasley. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

Police Minister Yasmin Catley thanked Brett and Belinda Beasley, the parents of Jack Beasley, who have been on a crusade to change the law in NSW in line with Queensland.

“No parent should go through what the Beasleys and many other families have gone through. No life should be cut short by violent crime,” she said.

Attorney-General Michael Daley said: “There are too many young people who think it is OK to put a knife into their pocket to carry out their daily business. The worrying thing is that, if they are open to carrying it, then they are probably open to using it.”