Jack’s Law has marked a significant milestone, as police wanding operations result in 1000 weapons being located and removed from Queensland streets.
Since Jack’s Law first commenced as a trial on the Gold Coast, 1003 weapons including knives, axes, machetes and more have been located and seized.
During the Gold Coast trial 266 weapons were located, while 737 have been seized since Jack’s Law commenced state-wide in April 2023.
Wanding operations since Jack’s Law commenced statewide have resulted in more than 2,100 people being charged with almost 3,800 offences across more than 8,000 wanding operations.
Jack’s Law was introduced in response to the tragic stabbing death of 17-year-old Jack Beasley at Surfers Paradise in 2019.
It allows police officers to utilise a metal detection wand to scan for weapons in authorised locations.
Scans are quick, averaging a minute or two and require no physical contact by police.
By scanning for, detecting and removing dangerous weapons from public places, police aim to reduce the harm these weapons cause in the community while educating on the risks of unlawfully carrying a weapon.
In September 2024, Jack’s Law was expanded to allow wanding in more high-risk public locations including shopping centres, licensed premises and sporting precincts.
Youth Crime Taskforce Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Massingham said that police were already beginning to see the impact of Jack’s Law operations in these new locations.
“The response from shop owners, businesses and stakeholders has been incredibly positive with a number of knives and other weapons seized in busy shopping centres, potentially preventing a tragedy,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Massingham said.
“To reach more than 1000 dangerous weapons is an outstanding achievement, and representative of our commitment to proactive efforts to disrupt knife crime and protect our communities.
“The Beasleys have been instrumental in this achievement, and I thank them and applaud their continued efforts to educate our young people about the dangers of carrying weapons.
“I thank our officers for their dedication in implementing Jack’s Law from the beginning, and know across the state those efforts will continue in full force to enhance community safety.”
Belinda Beasley said they are proud that Jack’s legacy is living on through keeping communities safe.
“To see Jack’s Law grow from Surfers Paradise to across Queensland and now into other states across Australia is incredible and we know it will save lives,” Belinda Beasley said.
“Through the amazing work and efforts of QPS in they have taken 1000 weapons out of public spaces, where they could have caused harm, this is an outstanding result, and we know it’s just the beginning.”
“The Jack Beasley Foundation will continue working closely with police to prevent knife crime and continue the education of young people to prevent knife violence.”
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