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       NSW police to be given powers to search people for knives with no
       warrant under new proposal
        
 (HTM) Source
        
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       ###### Key Points
        
         * New wanding laws will allow NSW police to better stop and search p
         * The powers allow police to use hand-held metal detectors without w
         * The powers can be used "in circumstances where a relevant weapons 
        
       NSW police will be able to stop and search people for a weapon without
       reasonable suspicion or a warrant under new laws designed to crack
       down on youth crime.  
         
        
       Premier Chris Minns says the government will implement so-called
       "wanding" powers in Australia's most populous state after a spate of
       high-profile knife attacks that shocked Sydney, including one in the
       Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre where six people died last
       month.  
         
        
       The powers, hailed as a success in Queensland, allow police to use
       hand-held metal detectors without warrants in designated night
       precincts and around transit hubs.  
         
        
       "In recent weeks and months, we have all borne witness to the
       devastating outcomes of knife-related violence," Minns said.  
        
       > In recent weeks and months, we have all borne witness to the
       > devastating outcomes of knife-related violence.
       >
       > Chris Minns
        
       The legislation will be modelled on police search powers used in
       Queensland and based on Jack's Law, named after teenager Jack Beasley
       who was stabbed to death on the Gold Coast in 2019.  
         
        
       More than 500 weapons have been taken off the streets since the
       reforms were introduced in March 2023.  
         
        
       Under the NSW plans revealed on Monday, police will be able to search
       without a warrant in designated areas, including transport hubs,
       shopping centres and nightlife and entertainment precincts.  
        
       The powers can be used "in circumstances where a relevant weapons
       offence/knife crime have occurred within the past six months," the
       government said.  
         
        
       The authority will last for 12 hours, with an option to extend.  
        
       The reforms will also make it illegal to sell knives to a child under
       the age of 18, with exemptions for those who need a knife for work or
       study.  
         
        
       Attorney-General Michael Daley said there were too many young people
       "who think it is okay to put a knife into their pocket to carry out
       their daily business".  
         
        
       "The worrying thing is that, if they are open to carrying it, then
       they are probably open to using it," he said.  
         
        
       "We want people to stop carrying knives, to leave them at home and to
       stop using them."
        
        
        
        
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