Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has announced that a re-elected Labor Government would introduce sweeping stop-and-search powers for police and protective services officers, allowing them to use handheld metal detectors to search people for knives in public places.
The commitment adopts the Coalition’s previously announced proposal for so-called “Jack’s Law” and means expanded knife-search powers are expected to proceed in Victoria regardless of which major party wins the November state election.
Carroll said the powers would allow police to conduct searches without a warrant and described the policy as a new direction for tackling knife crime.
“Stop and search. Handheld metal detectors. Any public place. Any time of day. Adults and children. No warrant needed,” Carroll said.
“Knives have no place on our streets. Jack’s Law – stop and search is the new direction I’m delivering. More tough powers, and more police to use them.”
Under Labor’s proposal, Victoria Police would receive 1,200 additional handheld metal-detecting wands from early next year.
Police Minister Paul Edbrooke described the proposed powers as applying “anywhere, any time” to detect deadly blades.
The legislation is named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed while out with friends in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in 2019. His parents, Brett and Belinda Beasley, have since campaigned for expanded knife-search powers, with similar measures introduced in several Australian jurisdictions.
The announcement represents a change in position for Victorian Labor, which had previously resisted expanding police stop-and-search powers under former Premier Jacinta Allan. Carroll, who became Premier in July, has made community safety and crime a key focus of his leadership.
However, criminologists and human rights advocates have questioned whether the measures will reduce knife-related violence.
A Griffith University evaluation of Queensland’s 2021–22 wanding trial found that while metal detectors increased the detection of knife carrying in some locations, there was no evidence that wanding deterred knife carrying or reduced violent crime.
Victoria currently allows random stop-and-search powers in designated areas, which can include shopping centres, sporting precincts or entire suburbs. The proposed changes would significantly expand the circumstances in which police could conduct weapon searches.
Carroll said the government would work with legal experts to ensure the proposed legislation was robust.
The expanded powers are expected to be introduced if Labor is returned to government, while the Coalition has already committed to Jack’s Law-style measures.
The policy comes as both major parties campaign on tackling knife crime ahead of the Victorian election.
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