The move to 24/7 wanding in the “safe night” zones means more than 1,000 people have been checked for concealed weapons in the past month alone to combat knife crime.

Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman said police had scanned 5,325 people for weapons since the trial began last May.

A total of 235 people had been charged with 370 offences and 93 weapons from knives to knuckle dusters and replica firearms have been seized by police.

Of the 370 offences, 73 have been weapons-related offences including some people charged with carrying more than one weapon.

Wildman said police confiscated all dangerous weapons, including seizing an ornamental letter opener at the weekend.

“It’s got a sharp point on it and can be thrust and cause significant injuries,” Wildman said.

“It’s important for community remembers to know you need a lawful reason for carrying each weapon out in public. Some of these implements can be used to inflict serious injuries on people.

“If you actually need to carry something like a letter opener as part of your profession, you may work in an office and are going on your way to work, that’s absolutely fine. But at 2 o’clock in the morning outside a nightclub, not so much,” Wildman told ABC Gold Coast.

“It’s all around the location, the time of the event and the type of implement.”

Gold Coast police were granted enhanced powers to use the metal detecting wands to target knife crime when the State Government introduced a suite of Youth Justice reforms to target hardcore recidivist offenders in April.

The crackdown also came after 17-year Jack Beasley was stabbed to death in Surfers Paradise on a night out with friends in December 2019.

The wanding powers have been limited to the Gold Coast’s safe night precincts at Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise, which were set up to reduce late-night drug and alcohol-related violence.

In the first six months of the trial, police searched 1,491 people, seizing more than 50 weapons including saws, screwdrivers, kitchen knives, and axes.

The weapons haul resulted in 122 charges against 95 people, including teens as young as 13.

At the time Wildman said no weapons had been recovered from any females. Offenders captured carrying weapons were all male, and had an average age of 18 years, he said.

As the 12-month trial moves into its final weeks, Wildman said the extra checks would extend the random searches from targeted areas within the precincts.

“It’s a random approach, but we do use intelligence around different locations,” he said.

“People coming off tram stops and some of our high visibility areas like Cavill Avenue and Orchid Avenue will remain, but it’s also important we do it somewhere quieter like the parks and back streets,” he said.