May 18, 2021
Queensland police are targeting knife-carrying and knife-related crime in a new campaign launched on Tuesday.
The campaign was foreshadowed in Kingaroy last month by Detective Inspector Chris Knight, who told local businesspeople that knife crime was rampant on the Gold Coast but was also “creeping” into smaller regional communities such as the South Burnett.
“Wherever you have got young people carrying knives, you’ve got no winners,” Det Insp Knight told the KCCI meet’n’greet.
“We’ve got an opportunity to get on top of it now before it becomes the problem we are seeing elsewhere.”
On Tuesday, Commissioner Katarina Carroll said police statistics showed knife-related offences in public across Queensland had risen 33 per cent since 2016.
The campaign, “I Live My Life … Without a Knife”, follows a successful trial in Logan in 2019 which saw a sustained 23 per cent decrease in knife-related crime in the district.
Commissioner Carroll said the campaign was focused on prevention, with the aim of influencing the values of young people, educating them on the laws and empowering them to make the right choices.
“As police, we see all too often the devastating consequences of knife-related crime in our community. When we analysed the data, we saw that most of the knife crime in the State was related to young people carrying knives,” she said.
“Often the excuse provided to police for carrying a knife was to protect themselves.
“We know that unfortunately much of the time, it’s not the case. These knives are frequently used to commit serious crimes, so we are looking to empower people to make the choice of not carrying a knife.”
- Related article: KCCI Update On Crime, Social Issues
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The campaign is supported by Jesse Williams, a Brisbane local and retired NFL player who after a successful career in America now uses his story to empower others.
“Growing up in South Brisbane, at school I always had this drive and this passion, and I was lucky enough to turn that into something that no one could have ever imagined – that I could never imagine,” Mr Williams said.
“I have a great passion for storytelling and if I can make a difference in community and in young people by telling my story, that’s what it’s about.”
