‘Anywhere, anytime’: Victoria police and PSOs to get random stop and search powers after Labor backflip

Crime By Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent • September 16, 2026, 5:54 AM UTC
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‘Anywhere, anytime’: Victoria police and PSOs to get random stop and search powers after Labor backflip
Premier Ben Carroll adopts Coalition’s stance on Jack’s Law, which gives police and PSOs power to randomly search people for knives with metal detectorsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Victorian p...

Premier Ben Carroll adopts Coalition’s stance on Jack’s Law, which gives police and PSOs power to randomly search people for knives with metal detectors

The Victorian premier has made another policy backflip, announcing a re-elected Labor government would give police and protective services officers the power to stop and search people for knives using handheld metal detectors – despite experts warning of a lack of evidence that the measure reduces violent crime.

Ben Carroll on Wednesday announced he would match a commitment made by the Coalition opposition last year to introduce Queensland’s Jack’s Law, named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed in Surfers Paradise in 2019.

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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/16/victoria-police-pso-stop-and-search-powers-jacks-law-labor-backflip
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