The NSW Nationals have raised concerns around the delayed rollout of Jack’s Law, which would give police powers to use metal detection wands, as knife crime plagues NSW.
In the three months since Jack’s Law passed the NSW Parliament, the Minns Labor Government has made little progress.
A Budget Estimates hearing has been told the procurement process for the necessary equipment is in limbo, with training yet to take place. It has also been revealed the earliest these critical new laws may commence is December 2024.
Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole said communities are being put at risk.
“It was concerning to hear no work has been done to determine what wands will be fit for purpose, or how many will be needed, especially given the fact they will be coming from overseas, which could be a lengthy process,” Mr Toole said.
“Meanwhile we are still seeing violent incidents of knife crime occurring in various parts of the state. This should be a priority for the Police Minister who needs to step up and ensure our officers have every resource they need to conduct these operations as soon as possible.
“At the end of the day it is the people of this state who are living in fear and being left at risk with knife attacks occurring in our shopping centres, our churches, our homes and on our streets.”
It was also revealed even if the wanding powers are up and running in December, it will only be in a very limited or trial capacity, with a regional rollout not expected until the second half of 2025.
“The Minns Labor Government hasn’t given any clarity around how things will work in terms of getting this equipment to rural and regional areas, and the current timeline is simply too long for our communities to wait,” Mr Toole said.
“In 2023, there were 8,790 knife crime incidents across NSW and each day these laws are delayed is another day we fail to get dangerous weapons off our streets.
“Ultimately the Police Minister is responsible, and she has left us with more questions than answers letting our hard-working police and communities down.”
