Queensland Police have conducted 160,997 handheld weapon scans from July 18, 2025, when wanding powers were expanded, through June 30, 2026. Of those scanned, 17,909 individuals, or 11%, identified as First Nations, while 49% identified as non-Indigenous. This contrasts with the 4.6% representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland's population, according to the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The wanding laws were introduced following the 2019 stabbing death of Jack Beasley on the Gold Coast. Ben Cannon, co-founder of Voice for Victims, noted the laws arose from "some really tragic incidents" and concerns about knives on the streets.

Queensland Police stated that scanning operations are "intelligence-led" and based on "identified risks including previous weapons offences or violence offending at particular locations," not on demographic characteristics.

However, advocates have expressed concern over the disproportionate number of First Nations people being searched. They emphasize that interactions with police do not occur in isolation and highlight the existing overrepresentation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system. One advocate said, "Those percentage figures ... about two and a half times what you'd expect, are certainly concerning," and noted this trend conflicts with the Closing the Gap targets aimed at reducing incarceration rates among First Nation Australians.

Griffith University criminologist Nadine Connell, who evaluated wanding during its trial phase on the Gold Coast, cautioned that gathering statistics on cultural identity or ethnicity is not an exact science. She added, "It really does come down to training and so on and addressing the potential for cultural stereotyping."

Sources