CMY Position: Expanded police powers to conduct searches in designated areas
Background
On 26 November 2024, the ‘Terrorism (Community Protection) and Control of Weapons Amendment Bill 2024’ was introduced to Parliament, granting the Police Chief Commissioner expanded powers to search for weapons, by extending the duration of a designated search area for up to six months, and reducing the threshold to declare a designated area – allowing an area to be designated even if there is no evidence of previous incidents of violence.
The Bill also makes changes to the advertising of designated areas, removing the requirement for notices to be published in newspapers, and only requiring them to be published on the Victoria Police website.
These changes have been introduced in the context of increasingly publicised knife-related incidents in Victoria and calls for incisive action on youth crime from the general public, as well as to align with similar interstate measures.
CMY undertook numerous consultations with youth workers, and with a young person. This position reflects what we have heard from our community and what we have learned from a scan of relevant information.
CMY Position
Offences involving weapons pose a serious threat to community, and effective solutions are essential to address this. Sections of the communities we work with are greatly concerned by the actual and perceived risks illegal weapons possession and use presents to young people:
“Our community is tired of burying young people. Obviously, there are disadvantages to any law (e.g. racial profiling), but I put the safety and lives of our young people at the forefront. Whatever can be done so we are not burying more young people.” – Worker
However, expanding police powers to search young people in designated areas is unlikely to be effective in tackling the issue or in increasing community safety. Evidence-based, health-focused approaches offer a more impactful, and sustainable solution. Failing to do this will continue to have disproportionate impacts on multicultural young people with over policing and criminalisation contributing to their overrepresentation in the justice system.