WA may soon have the toughest knife laws in the country, with a proposed law before Parliament that, if passed, will allow WA police to scan people for concealed weapons ‘anytime, anywhere’.

This law would allow WA police to conduct non-invasive scans using handheld metal detectors, or “wands”, in new Protected Entertainment Precincts or short-term knife scan zones.

These Protected Entertainment Precincts will be set up in areas in Hillarys, Scarborough, Northbridge, Perth, Fremantle, and Mandurah.

Short-term knife scan zones can be set up by a WA Police Officer ranked Inspector or higher in any publicly accessible location, like shopping centres or train stations.

People who resist being scanned could face up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of $12,000, with “self-defence” reasons not being considered a lawful excuse for carrying a knife. 

WA’s knife scan legislation was influenced by ‘Jack’s Law’ in Queensland, passed in March 2023 and was named after a 17-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed on the Gold Coast.

According to an impact statement released by the Queensland Police in November 2023, 350 weapons had been seized under Jack’s Law within the first six months of the law being active.

Civil Liberties Australia chief executive Bill Rowlings said the WA Government’s focus on introducing “tough” knife laws was driven by community perceptions of growing knife violence, particularly among youths.

“WA and the rest of Australia should invest far more in prevention … ways of getting kids not to carry knives,” he said.

He noted a trend in Queensland of introducing anti-knife laws and later extending them to be “more repressive and to affect more places”.

“The law’s impact should be monitored, and the laws should be wound back considerably in five to ten years if statistics show knife crime remains on a downward trend.”

Some experts are concerned that these laws may contribute to discrimination in WA.

Curtin Law School Professor Hannah McGlade said similar laws in the US have allowed racial profiling of African-American people, contributing to a severe over-representation in the justice system.

“Such laws proposed in WA will no doubt be used disproportionately against Aboriginal people, who experience discrimination at all stages of the justice system,” she said.

Dr McGlade referred to the 2021 Australia Law Reform Commission Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander Peoples, which made 35 recommendations to address the disproportionate rates of incarceration of Indigenous Australians.

Indigenous Australian adults have an imprisonment rate nearly 14 times higher than non-Indigenous Australians based on 2022 national census data.

Law experts like Dr McGlade are worried introducing a law with such a broad scope and hefty fines will heavily impact disadvantaged groups: “The law’s intention to stop knife violence is worthy, but the use of the law may be problematic.”