Wanding blitz nabs machetes, knives in night hot spots

One in four people have been detected with a weapon at a South East Queensland train station, as a police wanding blitz finds bladed items including a machete.

Police have caught people carrying machetes, knives, box cutters and a set of knuckle dusters in a weekend wanding blitz in Queensland’s night hot spots.

Officers have been given the power to use the metal-detecting devices in Safe Night precincts and transport hubs following the stabbing death of teenager Jack Beasley on the Gold Coast in 2019.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Wheeler said police had conducted operations over 18 areas at the weekend including 10 night precincts and eight transport hubs, using Jack’s Law which was recently passed in Parliament in memory of young Gold Coast stabbing victim Jack Beasley.

“Concerningly we’ve scanned 530 people and detected eight weapons,” Mr Wheeler said.

Mr Wheeler said the people found with weapons included juveniles, young adults and people aged in their 20s.

Knives seized by Queensland Police Service

In the night precincts police scanned more than 450 people and found seven weapons. Officers scanned 80 people at transport hubs and found one weapon.

A knife seized by Queensland Police Service

A bladed weapon seized in the Queensland Police Service wanding operation at the weekend\

In a two-day operation at Ipswich train stations this week, three knives, a machete and a knuckleduster were seized after 35 people were wanded.

Mr Wheeler said four out of 18 people were detected with weapons at a police operation at Redbank train station on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

“That’s a hit rate of about one in four people in that location being detected with a weapon,” he said.

“What we saw at the Gold Coast trial across the two years that it ran, on average about one in every 100 people scanned was carrying a weapon of some description, so those (Redbank) stats I’m sure are really, really concerning.”

Mr Wheeler spoke outside of the Fortitude Valley Train Station where Lauie Michael Tagaloa, 24, died last year with stab wounds. Seyram Kwami Djentuh, 21, has been charged with his murder.

“We’ve seen the horrific outcomes of knife crime, indeed only in July last year at this location we saw a young man, 24-year-old die, we will allege as a result of events involving a knife,” he said.

“The message is very simple here: if you go into a public place and you are carrying a knife, expect to be approached by police. Expect to be stopped and you can expect to be scanned by a metal detector.”

Statistics for police wanding blitz

Mr Wheeler said it was concerning many people said they carried weapons for their own self-defence.

“Carrying a weapon for self-defence is not an excuse … but that’s the majority of the reasons that people give,” he said.

“Particularly young people (think) we have to carry a knife to protect ourselves because others are carrying a knife.

“What you then see is a self-perpetuating problem in that ‘I feel I must be armed because others are armed’.

Mr Wheeler said generally the people caught were in groups.

He urged parents to talk to young adults about the risks of carrying knives.

“Really, if you are carrying those weapons I can only draw one conclusion as to what your intent is, there is simply no reason,” he said.

Police Minister Mark Ryan said the laws were delivering “extraordinary community safety outcomes” and there was no legitimate reason to have a knife in Safe Night precincts or on public transport.

“By removing knives from people in the public we are creating a safer community,” he said.

“But it’s more than that, we want to instil a knife-free culture across every part of Queensland.

“So it’s not just the threat of being detected with a knife and the criminal consequences that go along with that … but it’s the education and the culture about developing a knife-free culture here in Queensland.”

Police operations over the weekend took place in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Townsville, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast, Logan, Toowoomba, Airlie Beach and Capricornia.

Police said between July 2021 and June 2022 there were more than 3200 offences involving knife possession in a public place or school in Queensland.

Over the period 11 people died in assaults involving a knife.
Officers trialled the metal detectors on the Gold Coast in 2021 before Jack’s Law was expanded to other areas.

SAFE NIGHT PRECINCTS

* 454 people scanned over 10 Safe Night precincts across the state

* 399 adults and 42 juveniles

* 7 weapons located

* 7 people charged on 11 offences

PUBLIC TRANSPORT HUBS

* 76 people scanned across 8 public transport hubs

* 29 adults and 47 juveniles

* 1 weapon located

* 8 people charged on 15 offences

TOTAL

* 530 people scanned across 18 locations statewide

* 8 weapons located

* 15 people charged

Originally published as Wanding blitz nabs machetes, knives in night hot spots