MacDonnell Regional Council – Community Safety Services

Community Safety, a program often known as Night Patrol, is funded by the Australian Government’s National Indigenous Australians Agency. The service’s primary focus is the safety of young people, particularly at nighttime; ensuring when possible that children get home at a reasonable hour to maximise their school attendance.

There are Community Safety teams in 12 MRC communities. We only employ local Aboriginal community members in the community teams, with more than more than 70 staff employed at any given time.

Community Safety works 5-6 nights/week, anywhere from 5pm – midnight, depending on the needs of the community and capacity of the team.

Examples of core work Community Safety staff do:

• Drive young people to Youth Programs and home to a safe space.
• Assist vulnerable community members, driving them to a safe place, the clinic or Police if necessary.
• Talk to community members to make sure they are ok.
• Looking out for anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving. • Providing a safe space in the Community Safety compound to sit and share stories.
• Talk down arguments.
• Help Community members to understand that Community Safety staff are NOT Security Guards and are never to put themselves in any position of danger.

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