Revealed: The hotspots where people in the crowd are hiding weapons

Sydney Morning Herald

20-07-2025

The locations of metal detection scans carried out by Queensland Police can be revealed for the first time, with dozens of weapons found in shopping centres as well as crime hotspots, including nightclub districts.
Documents obtained by Brisbane Times show that from January to March this year, police wanded more than 12,400 people but charged fewer than 3 per cent with weapons offences.
The data shows officers conducted scanning operations in major hubs around south-east Queensland, such as nightclub areas in Brisbane and the Gold Coast and shopping complexes, including Toowong Village, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, and Westfield Mount Gravatt.
The highest number of weapons were recorded at Surfers Paradise's safe night precinct (27 weapons), Broadbeach South light rail stop (13 weapons), and bus stop A outside the Logan Hyperdome Shopping Centre in Shailer Park (10 weapons).
The shopping centres with the most weapons detected were Chermside in Brisbane's north and Grand Central in Toowoomba, with four found in each.
Searches were carried out at dozens of transport hubs, such as the Chermside bus interchange, Central train station, and bus platforms at Carindale Shopping Centre.
From more than 12,400 scans, 303 people were charged with weapons offences – a 2.4 per cent strike rate.
The wanding operations, known as Jack's Law, were put in place following the fatal stabbing of teenager Jack Beasley in 2019.