Proposed Tasmanian knife search laws go too far
01/04/2025
A new law the Tasmanian government intends to introduce into the parliament this week will allow Tasmanian police officers to search anyone for knives in almost any public location and at any time. This is a significant and dangerous increase in police powers and will do little if anything to create a safer community, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
Currently, Tasmanian police must have a ‘reasonable belief’ that someone is carrying a knife before they can conduct a search. Under the new bill, they will only need a ‘reasonable suspicion’.
“This is the greatest increase in unchecked police power in living memory – it is dangerous and unfortunately it is likely to be abused,” said Henry Pill, Tasmanian President, Australian Lawyers Alliance. “Extra police powers will do little to help solve the problem of violence and will lead to the risk of people being searched based on racial and cultural stereotyping.
“Concerningly this Bill allows police officers to conduct these searches in a vast range of public places. This gives Tasmanian police much greater powers than has been allowed in other states of Australia where these search powers are restricted to defined times and places.
“Before giving up our civil liberties, Tasmanians should also be demanding that an increase in powers like this must come with greater safeguards against abuse and transparent reporting processes.”
Research from around the world shows that focusing on addressing the underlying causes of offending and investing in prevention strategies is much more effective than increasing police powers. A study undertaken by Griffith University in 2022 about the impact of wanding on knife crime on the Gold Coast showed that wanding did not reduce the use of weapons to commit crimes, and it did not deter people from carrying weapons, even when they knew there was a risk of being wanded.
“Decisions to increase police powers must be based on research and evidence, not politics. Increasing police powers is a simplistic solution to a complex issue and will not solve the problem in the long term,” said Henry.