Vulnerable and marginalised Queenslanders could be subjected to “surveillance and harassment” under strengthened laws permitting police to detain and search any person anywhere in the state, the lead author of the only state-funded report into them has warned.
“Jack’s law” permits police to randomly detain any person to search them with a metal detecting wand without the normal requirement that they reasonably suspect the person of a crime. However the powers are now limited to specific locations such as supermarkets, train stations and nightclub districts. The government says the law enables police to prevent knife violence.
