Thousands of knives and sinister weapons handed into police
Thousands of weapons are now in the hands of South Australian police after the state’s knife hand back plan, including a dangerous medieval spiked ball.
After a three-month anonymous surrender period, SA police have seen more than 3,508 weapons surrendered to authorities.
South Australian police stations received an average of 38 weapon a day between July 1 and September 30, with weapon including batons, bayonets, nunchuckus, star knives/ninja stars surrended.
The take also included a morning star – a medieval weapon consisting of a shaft with a spiked ball attached – 1,653 machetes and 1,170 swords.
While the three-month anonymous surrender period has now come to an end, anyone with dangerous weapons is still able to surrender them safely to their local police station (outside the CBD) but will be required to provide SAPOL with their name and address.
“Thankfully South Australia has been spared the sorts of knife crime we’ve seen on the eastern seaboard,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said at a press conference on Tuesday.
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“But we’re not taking our position for granted – enforcing the toughest knife laws in the country, and now taking thousands of dangerous knives, machetes and other weapons out of the community.
“By taking this tough approach, alongside our significant budget investments in additional police, we can maintain our enviable position as one of the safest places in the world to live.”
The surrender was part of the Malinauskas Government’s knife law reforms where anyone under the age of 18 was now barred from buying sharp knives under any circumstances, while swords and machetes were declared prohibited weapons.
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Part of those reforms also included creating a new offence for any person who supplies a knife to a child who is suspected of using that knife unlawfully.
Penalties of up to $20,000 or 2 years imprisonment apply for possession of a prohibited sword or machete.
The reforms also include the ability for SAPOL to declare any Shopping Precinct, Public Transport Hub or Public Transport Vehicle in order to conduct metal detector wand searches and order a person or group posing a risk to public safety to leave that declared place for 24 hours.
If they re-enter or attempt to re-enter there is a maximum penalty of $1250.
Eleven shopping precincts have so far been declared by the Police Commissioner under these new powers, with more expected to come.
Phase 3 of these reforms will take effect from 1 July 2026 when retailers will be required to either securely store or tether any dangerous knives for sale that are kept in publicly accessible areas of the shop.
They will also be required to display signs informing shoppers that the sale of knives to minors under 18 years of age is prohibited by law.
Exemptions to the secure storage requirements for retailers will apply in cases where the knives being sold don’t actually pose a threat – such as disposable knives used for the consumption of food, butter knives or similar knives sold in a cutlery set that do not have a sharp point, as well as razor blades that are permanently enclosed in a cartridge.
An exemption for the secure storage of dangerous knives will apply for fishing and tackle stores in recognition of the impact of the algal bloom on this sector.
