WA Police equipped with scanners, search powers under tough new anti-knife laws

WA Police will gain sweeping powers to search people for weapons in public from Friday under the state government’s stringent new knife laws, which it claims are among the toughest in the country.

Under the legislation, officers equipped with hand-held metal detectors will be authorised to scan members of the public for concealed weapons — without having to obtain a warrant.

Police Minister Paul Papalia.Credit: Trevor Collens

The technology will be permanently deployed in the city’s designated Protected Entertainment Precincts between Hillarys and Mandurah and senior officials will have the ability to search those in public places.

The new laws were modelled on Queensland’s “Jack’s Law” – which empowered officers to use metal detectors in entertainment precincts after the stabbing death of 19-year-old Jack Beasley in 2019 – and were unveiled following the Bondi Junction stabbing attack in which six people were killed.

The maximum penalty for those caught with an edged weapon is up to three years jail and a $36,000 fine, while those who refuse to comply could face up to a year behind bars or a $12,000 fine.

During a press conference in Yagan Square on Wednesday, Police Minister Paul Papalia said the laws would come into effect on Friday ahead of the Christmas and New Year period, and warned police would find those carrying knives.

“Our message to people is do not carry knives: knives take lives, and these laws are designed to save people’s lives,” he said.

“The bottom line is, don’t carry a knife, and you won’t be in any trouble.

“This is about protecting the community and about deterring people from carrying edged weapons, and if you don’t do that, you’re not going to be under any scrutiny.”

WA Police will use intelligence gained from the State Operations Command Centre to determine where “wanding areas” should be enacted, but officers will otherwise be able to implement them as a means of deterrence.

Papalia said WA Police would collate data on the number of people scanned, the proportion found with weapons, their location and the consequences for the individuals.

Metropolitan Regional Commander Dario Bolzonella said WA Police welcomed the new powers, and promised trained officers would be out in force at entertainment precincts.

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