A bipartisan pledge to give police sweeping powers to search for knives has been welcomed by victim advocates, but others argue they won't address the root causes of crime.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll on Wednesday pledged to implement "Jack's Law" by early 2027 if Labor is re-elected in November for a historic fourth straight term.
The powers will allow officers to use a handheld metal detector to "wand" people anywhere in public without a warrant, with an extra 1200 of the devices promised to do the job.
Queensland introduced the law after the fatal stabbing of teenager Jack Beasley during a night out on the Gold Coast in 2019, with NSW passing similar legislation in 2024.
Jack's parents Brett and Belinda Beasley have long been advocating for the introduction of the powers in Victoria and other states.
"It's about bloody time," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"To lose a child in any way is bad, but (to) have lost a child to murder is different altogether, and I couldn't let that go."
In 2025, then opposition leader Brad Battin committed to introducing Jack's Law if the Victorian coalition won the state election.
The policy doesn't explicitly appear within the coalition's latest community safety plan but current Liberal leader Jess Wilson has previously backed it.
Mr Carroll said the Beasleys didn't express disappointment at the change not being made sooner when they spoke over the phone on Tuesday night.
"They just said 'this is the best news, premier. We have been advocating for many years. Thank you'," he told reporters.
The Victorian Labor government was opposed to Jack's Law under former premier Jacinta Allan, relying on the current system of police designating areas for up to six months to randomly search for weapons.
But it now concedes the process had limits and believes the designated areas were in jeopardy following a Federal Court challenge.
A six-month declaration designating Melbourne's CBD and neighbouring suburbs, made by Victoria Police on November 30, was lifted on January 9 and later ruled invalid.
Mr Carroll repeatedly refused to be drawn on whether he advocated to Ms Allan to follow the opposition's plan and dismissed concerns about the policy's potential affect on vulnerable and minority communities.
"I make no apology for having a zero-tolerance approach to knife crime," he said.
The Victorian government pointed to figures released by the Queensland Liberal-National government on Friday showing 1439 weapons were seized from scanning 198,469 people since July 2025.
Experts who reviewed the Queensland laws argue they could lead to racial profiling and Swinburne University criminologist Joel McGregor said it would do little to reduce knife crime.
"It may take knives or weapons off the streets, which is an important outcome," Dr McGregor told AAP.
"But it won't stop the underlying factors as to why young people or people in general are carrying knives."
Victorian Greens justice spokesperson Katherine Copsey said Labor had completely lost its way on community safety.
"Instead of asking what actually works to prevent violence, Ben Carroll has Labor locked in a law-and-order bidding war with the Liberals over who can hand police more powers," she said.
