The NSW Government has just tabled legislation modelled on Queensland’s Jack’s Law which will give police powers to wand or scan people for knives without a warrant in specific areas - including shopping centres.
Under the new legislation, a senior police officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner or above can turn on wanding powers to be used in a designated areas, which also include on public transport (including bus, train and tram stations, sporting venues and other public places designated by regulation, including special events and places that are part of the night-time economy - larger scope compared to Queensland’s law.
The authority will last for 12 hours, with an option to extend as required.
Police can wand any person in a designated area and may request that person produce a metal object, if detected. Failure to comply may result in a maximum penalty of a fine of $5,500.
In response, the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) CEO Angus Nardi said he and his members strongly support the legislation, but are requesting clarity on a number of provisions, including those which differ from Queensland’s Jack’s Law.
“This includes issues such as what constitutes a ‘knife crime’ or ‘knife possession offences’ in the prior 12-month timeframe, which is a key enabler of these powers, along with notification requirements and proposed timeframes of ‘authority’,” Nardi said.
“We have successfully engaged with the Queensland Government over a long period of time on law reform, including the recent expansion of Jack’s Law and new laws to prohibit the sale of knives to people under 18.
“We look forward to engagement from the NSW Government to ensure these laws, if passed, can be as effective as possible.”
The SCCA has also welcomed additional legislation similar to Queensland, making it illegal to sell knives to people under the age of 18, including increasing penalties for people who are found selling knives to young people under 18 years of age.
“This is a sensible measure to tackle rising incidents of retail crime committed by young people with the use of weapons across a range of settings. We are working closely with the National Retail Association on the roll-out of this similar law in Queensland.”
The latest knife law reforms in NSW build upon recent action taken by the NSW Government, including doubling the maximum penalties for various knife related offences in 2023, with an ongoing review by the NSW Sentencing Council into sentencing for firearms, knives, and other weapons offences.
It also joins ongoing NSW Police operations such as ‘Operation Foil’ – which last ran from April 11-13, 2024. It targeted knife crime and anti-social behaviour with 51 knives/weapons seized and 145 people charged with weapon-related offences.
In the last year, almost 4,000 knives were seized in public places.
“My hope is that these commonsense reforms stop people from taking a knife into the community and prevent some of the devastating outcomes of knife related violence we have seen in recent months,” Premier Chris Minns said.
“The NSW Government is committed to tackling knife crime to keep our communities safe and these reforms send a strong message that knife crime is not tolerated.”