Queensland police seize more than 1,400 weapons during random checks
Police in the Australian state of Queensland have checked nearly 200,000 people using handheld metal detectors since July last year and seized more than 1,400 weapons. The checks are conducted under Jack’s Law, which allows law enforcement officers to randomly search people for weapons in public places without a warrant, ABC News Australia reports.
Checks in Brisbane
In the Brisbane region, police conducted 54,000 checks, seized 300 weapons, made 700 arrests and laid 1,400 charges. Queensland Police Minister Dan Purdie said the confiscated weapons were destroyed at an electronic waste recycling facility.
The seized items included machetes, hunting knives and a samurai sword. In particular, in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, police confiscated a large machete from a 17-year-old boy and a hunting knife from an 18-year-old during one night. Last weekend, a large machete was seized from a 15-year-old boy at a shopping complex in southern Brisbane.
“We will never know what these weapons were intended to be used for, but every knife, every weapon, every samurai sword is potentially a life saved,” Purdie said.
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Jack’s Law and check data
The law was named after teenager Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed on the Gold Coast in 2019 while spending an evening with friends. The law allows police to carry out random warrantless weapons checks in public places.
According to recent data, more than one in ten people checked for weapons under the expanded powers were identified as Indigenous Australians. At the same time, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 4.6% of Queensland’s population.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the law is not discriminatory because anyone can be checked in public places. The expansion of police powers is part of the Liberal National Party’s program to strengthen the fight against crime, which also includes tougher bail rules.
