The LNP Government has passed its landmark Making Jack’s Law Permanent Bill which empowers police to use hand-held wanding devices to detect concealed weapons in public places.
It amends the original Jack’s Law Act of 2024 to make it permanent by removing the sunset clause introduced by the former Labor Government which would have seen the law expire after two years.
Jack’s Law was introduced in honour of Jack Beasley who tragically lost his life in a knife attack in 2019.
Premier David Crisafulli said that since the introduction of Jack’s Law police had carried out around 115,000 scans, arrested more than 3000 people during wanding operations and located and removed more than 1100 knives off the streets.
“The Government’s permanent and proactive approach will expand the ability to search for weapons beyond designated precincts to any public areas, enabling faster, intelligence -led interventions wherever risk arises,” he said.
Member for Scenic Rim, Jon Krause, said that the amending Jack’s Law bill appropriately balanced community safety and civil liberties, and more importantly, prioritised the rights of victims over the rights of offenders.
“Let us not give up on trying to ensure people are prevented from going out without knives in the first place,” he said.