Girl from NSW charged for carrying knife in Queen St Mall
By Cloe Read
A 16-year-old girl from New South Wales was found with a knife in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall amid an expanded police crackdown on people carrying weapons.
Using handheld metal detectors on Thursday, police wanded 120 people as part of a north Brisbane blitz. Ten people were charged with several offences, including breach of bail, stealing, and drug-related crimes.
A 16-year-old New South Wales girl was charged after police seized a knife from her in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall.
Across north Brisbane so far this year, police say more than 6500 people have been searched, with 53 weapons seized, including kitchen and butcher’s knives and knuckle dusters.
The teenage girl was stopped in Queen Street Mall on Thursday, with body-worn camera footage showing a pocketknife inside a small bag. Officers charged her with one count of possession of a dangerous article, and she is scheduled to appear before the Brisbane Children’s Court on October 25.
It comes as officers in Surfers Paradise joined the parents of slain teenager Jack Beasley – after whom Jack’s Law was created to enable police to search people with handheld metal-detectors – as they walked the streets demonstrating the wands to New South Wales Police.
Brett and Belinda Beasley, who have campaigned for Jack’s Law since he was stabbed in Surfers Paradise in 2019, say the law helps save lives.
The Beasleys are now in discussions with South Australia to enforce the law there.
Since Jack’s Law began in April last year, almost 700 weapons have been seized across Queensland in more than 7000 operations.
The legislation was expanded this year by the Miles government, meaning officers can now also search people without a warrant in shopping centres, high-risk retail premises, sporting and entertainment venues, licensed venues, and on train lines. Previously, officers were only allowed to search in Safe Night Precincts, and public transport areas.
Experts, including the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties and academics who studied the trial of Jack’s Law, have raised concerns about the police powers, saying there is potential for people to be targeted based on racial or cultural stereotypes, and that officers now no longer need to have reasonable suspicion to search someone.
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