Teachers forced to leave homes as shocking photos show extent of student vandalism

Teachers in Western Australia’s far north are living in fear as the community they aim to help targets them in violent break-ins.

This masthead has seen a series of photos from inside Catholic education and state government-tenanted properties in Kununurra, which is experiencing another wave of youth crime.

At least three teachers in the town and its surrounding remote communities have recently been targeted in burglaries while they are at work during the day, helping educate some of the town’s most vulnerable children.

Their homes have had windows and doors smashed in, with children rifling through belongings, destroying sentimental photos, breaking car windows, stealing alcohol and graffitiing the properties with obscene language.

Some teachers have been forced to leave their homes over safety fears, with the state government putting some up in hotels at taxpayer expense.

Many police, nurses and teachers live in state government-tenanted housing in the Kimberley, due to high rental prices and limited availability.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing and Works, which manages the regional housing program, said there were some minimum standards for safety – security screens to accessible windows, window locks and either deadlock, bolt lock or security screen to access doors.

It is up to other government agencies using the houses, like the Department of Education, to pay for extra security.

Some teachers have personally spent thousands on installing security cameras and alarms in their homes.

State School Teachers’ Union WA president Matt Jarman said there was a “long-standing issue with security” in some of the state-owned regional housing, organised through the Government Regional Officer Housing program (GROH).

“A system where some newly arrived teachers get given wheel clamps at their induction because their homes don’t have secure garages is a dysfunctional one,” Jarman said.

“Having to back your car up to your door because the security screen hasn’t been fixed is unacceptable.

“Insufficient security measures during construction and subsequent failures to maintain properties and make urgent repairs is unacceptable.

“We need to address these issues across the GROH system.”

The Department of Education said it was aware of only one instance of a home burglary of a teacher in Kununurra and one involving “another staff member”.

“Every staff member has the right to feel safe at work and in their home environments, and it is distressing when these incidents occur,” a spokeswoman said.

“The department has not been made aware of any other instances of this nature involving staff members in the Kimberley.

“There has been one reported incident in the Pilbara.”

A spokesman for Catholic Education WA said they had not been made aware of any specific issues impacting staff in teacher housing.

This masthead is aware of at least three teachers who have been burgled recently, including twice at one property.

The department said it tried to support teachers who didn’t feel safe going home.

“In any circumstance where a tenant is seeking other accommodation, we will work to make alternate accommodation arrangements for staff to ensure they are supported,” the spokeswoman said.

“In the first instance, we encourage staff to report a crime directly to WA Police.”

Youth crime was again thrown into the spotlight last week when a Kununurra local took footage of a group of children chasing police in a stolen car through a residential area of the town.

It’s the latest high-profile incident in the Kimberley’s fight against youth crime, which has been ongoing since at least 2021.

Crime often increases in the wet season up north, with children less likely to go home at night due to hot temperatures.

The government is yet to mandate air-conditioning in state-owned housing.

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