‘Extraordinary power’: Calls for review of knife searches by Qld police

More than 30,000 children have been searched by police under Jack’s Law, sparking calls for a review of the powers amid concerns that police could be misusing them, and to assess whether they are reducing the crime rate.

New Queensland Police Service data shows that in the 21 months from April 2023 to early January, 92,201 people had been scanned across Queensland – 31,516 of them children.

Among both adults and minors, 2505 people were charged with 4533 offences.

Jack Beasley, whose stabbing death prompted the introduction of Jack’s Law.Credit: The Beasley family

The law, to be made permanent under the Crisafulli government, was an initiative of the former Labor government, with a trial pushed through after the stabbing death of teenager Jack Beasley in Surfers Paradise in 2019.

Under the previous government, the law had a sunset clause of October 2026 to allow for an independent review of the legislation and to assess how it was working.

But Michael Cope, president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, said the legislation needed to be evaluated before then due to concerns that police could use their powers for other purposes than metal detection, such as charging people for drugs.

“This is a new legislation, it’s an extraordinary power, so there should be maximum transparency about how it’s functioning and how it’s being used, what charges are being brought, and who it’s being used against,” he said.

“They should have a review so we can find out whether or not in fact it is really doing what they say it’s doing.

“All the evidence from the UK would suggest that it will be making little or no difference to the sort of crimes that it’s meant to be dealing with – violent crime, assault.”

QPS data shows more than 5000 authorisations were issued for wanding in the 2023 to 2024 period. Of those, 465 weapons were found.

I think we need an evaluation of how it’s operating in these different areas ... Is it a good use of resources?

Janet Ransley, Griffith University

Among almost 2500 charges laid during that period, just over 400 related to weapons offences, including 355 for possession of a knife in a public place or school. Almost 1400 charges related to drug offences.

“It’s going to be used to put more and more people through the court system and potentially into overcrowded youth detention centres, which we’re building more of, or into overcrowded prisons, which we’re also building more of,” Cope said.

“They should release the full details of all these charges.”

The powers were originally put forward for use in safe night precincts and public transport hubs, but they now encompass shopping centres and sporting venues.

Janet Ransley, who completed a review of the wanding trial on the Gold Coast for Griffith University in 2022, said there should also be an evaluation of how the expansion had worked at the other sites.

“Safe night precincts do tend to have higher rates of violent crime, and they do tend to result in injuries, so there’s an argument for having this kind of strategy in those places,” Ransley said.

But she said major concerns remained over how officers were determining which people to scan, and whether it was based on real intelligence or stereotypes.

Ransley said searches of children could also undermine their long-term trust in police and the law.

“Obviously, it’s more that kid who feels they’re being picked out, that they’re being targeted and that it’s unfair, particularly, I suspect, if they belong to some kind of racial or cultural minority where that’s not an uncommon experience,” she said.

Police Minister Dan Purdie did not answer questions about whether there would be any further review of Jack’s Law.

“The laws have already seen almost 1000 weapons seized that could have been used to hurt or kill someone, and there is no doubt making the laws permanent will save lives,” he said.

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