Possessing a knife in public will attract a maximum penalty of 18 months’ imprisonment for a first offence under changes announced by the Queensland government in the wake of the stabbing death of Vyleen White.
The maximum penalty for the first offence of possessing a knife will increase from 12 to 18 months, while the maximum penalty for a subsequent offence will double from 12 months to two years.
The Queensland government will also consider expanding police powers to search for knives using metal wands, as well as the expansion of electronic GPS monitoring for youth offenders.
Laws prohibiting the sale of knives to minors will fast-tracked, with retailers required to lock away sharp weapons including knives and tomahawks and to check identification before they can be sold.
The changes come after the police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, personally briefed the cabinet on Monday ahead of the first sitting week for the year.
Carroll said she received a “very good hearing” from the cabinet, with the government investigating youth crime laws after the fatal stabbing of 70-year-old White in front of her six-year-old granddaughter at Redbank Plains shopping centre earlier this month.
The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, said his government’s number one priority was to “keep Queenslanders safe”.
“There is no reason why anyone should have a knife in public. A weapon that can be used for violence in public, it’s not acceptable,” he told reporters on Monday.
“… I know how upset and angry Queenslanders are because I am too.”
Miles said police had already confiscated 450 weapons, resulting in 400 offences since “Jack’s Law” was passed last March which allowed officers to search people with metal wands for weapons.
But he said it was important to avoid a “kneejerk reaction” around crime legislation.
“It is important that they are properly considered, that we properly consult stakeholders, that there is a proper parliamentary process to consider these changes,” he said.
Carroll said she believed wanding at shopping centres should be considered.
“We are asking again to revisit, particularly the areas that we know where offending is taking place and where children, high-risk offenders are actually coming together,” she said.
“We honestly do believe that, with the little bit of work that we’ve already done, that shopping centres are definitely warranted.”
The police minister, Mark Ryan, said there were few places in the world where police were allowed to undertake warrantless searches for weapons.
“The government and police service have been very firm in saying … safeguards have to be in place and maintained,” he said.
On the knife sale ban for minors, Ryan invited retailers to commence restrictions immediately, with a firm deadline for the industry to enforce the legislation coming “as soon as possible”.
The Queensland government twice suspended the state’s Human Rights Act last year to make breach of bail an offence for children and to formalise the detention of children in police watch houses.
Miles did not rule out a third suspension of the act, saying it was one of the matters that the government still needed to consider.
The deputy opposition leader, Jarrod Bleijie, said the Liberal National party would consider the changes in a “soberly and methodical way” but criticised the government for not acting faster.
“The reality is the government could do a lot more this week, not just expand things they’ve already been doing,” he told reporters on Monday.
