NT education: MacFarlane Primary School hires security, patrol dog amid spike in break-ins

A Katherine politician has revealed the lengths one school must go to just to keep its students safe after a spate of crime in the area.

A security guard and patrol dog have become a familiar sight in one Katherine school after the learning centre was targeted by vandals multiple times.

During last weeks budget estimates, Opposition Education spokeswoman Jo Hersey said MacFarlane Primary School had engaged the additional security after “repeated break-ins over time”.

Mrs Hersey said the security and patrol dog “were there for quite some time” and the school would have racked up a large bill for the unusual expenditure.

MacFarlane Primary School, Katherine. Picture: Alex Treacy

Education Minister Mark Monaghan said the school had been reimbursed for the security costs.

Mr Monaghan told the NT News this year’s budget invested $3 million to deliver the School Based Police Program, which includes 15 officers and specialised police auxiliaries based in schools.

He said the Education Department also commissioned a new $652,000 fence for the school.

A spokesperson for Mr Monaghan’s office said MacFarlane Primary School had not been broken into since the fence’s completion.

Education Minister Mark Monaghan. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Opposition Education spokeswoman Jo Hersey. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Education Department deputy chief executive of regional services Saeed Amin said MacFarlane Primary School was given $17,768 to cover the cost of damage repairs after a series of break-ins.

Mr Amin said the school was also given $12,045 to clean up vandalism on the property.

Mrs Hersey told the NT News the CLP would increase student and staff safety by expanding school-based constables and ensuring qualified school counsellors in schools are properly resourced.

“You will not fix results and attendance if teachers, staff and students do not feel safe in school environments,” Mrs Hersey said.

Mr Monaghan revealed during estimates there were 209 school break-ins between July 1, 2023 and March 21, 2024, compared to 215 the year before.

In the Big Rivers region – where MacFarlane Primary School is located – there were nine more school break-ins during the current reporting period compared to the previous year.