He’s calling it a “common-sense” change to combat knife crime.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns is proposing new laws this week to give police the power to conduct random wanding for knives in designated areas.
The proposal would give New South Wales police officers the power to use metal-detection wands in areas where a knife crime has been committed within the past six months, including on public transport, shopping centres, and pubs and clubs without a warrant or reasonable suspicion.
The legislation is based on “Jacks Law”, introduced in Queensland last year, following the death of 17-year-old Jack Beasley after he was fatally stabbed on the Gold Coast in 2019.
The Premier pointed to the horrors at Bondi Westfield, the church stabbing at Wakeley, and the death of a teenager at Blacktown, saying “In recent weeks and months, we have all borne witness to the devastating outcomes of knife-related violence”
“Our communities are still in the morning, but we must step up and take immediate action to send a clear message that New South Wales will simply not accept these kinds of crime”
The legislation comes with the proposal to change the age of buying a knife to 18 rather than 16 and increase penalties for selling knives to young people.
The details are still to be finalised before being introduced to New South Wales Parliament.
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