NSW Police enact new search powers and discover knives, tasers, slingshot at Central railway station
Commuters in one of the busiest train stations in Australia have been left stunned as police enacted the first wanding searches under new laws, with a disturbing amount of dangerous weapons seized in the initial moments.
Sydney’s Central railway station became the kick-off point for the NSW version of Queensland’s “Jack’s Law” giving new powers to police, and within the first five minutes officers had already searched and seized a concealed knife in a commuters’ possession.
News Corp is reporting that three knives, two tasers and a slingshot were seized by NSW Police officers on Thursday afternoon, days after they were granted new handheld scanning powers to crackdown on knife crime.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“In this field that we are in right now, in the public mind, it’s all about reducing violence offences, reducing knives and weapons on the network and that’s what we’ll continue to do,” Assistant Commissioner Stephen Hegarty told The Daily Telegraph.
The law enables police officers to stop and scan individuals in designated areas without a warrant to look for illegal knives, as long as the area is somewhere knife crime has previously occurred.
Train and light trail passengers could be seen being stopped by officers as they walked through the train station and outside promenade.
“I see the police here seizing weapons from people that I may have been standing next to on the train,” one commuter said.
“It’s genuinely terrifying to think that they are just wandering around here and could use these weapons on anyone at anytime.”
NSW purchased around 120 new metal detector wands to aid them in the extra work and expect to use them regularly during the busy Christmas commuter period.
