A man has been arrested over damage to a memorial honouring police killed in the line of duty.

Damage to the memorial on Sydney’s Domain was first noticed by officers working at Australia Day celebrations about noon on Sunday, according to NSW Police.

Police on Monday arrested a 43-year-old man at Glebe Light Rail station and he was taken to Day Street Police Station, where he is expected to be charged.

The words “evil”, “dogs” and other markings were scratched into the stone monument about 3am on Saturday.

The area has been taped off as a crime scene and an investigation launched.

The force is working with the Sydney City Council to fix the damage.

NSW Premier Chris Minns described it as “disgusting behaviour”.

“Police put themselves in danger every day in the service of our state,” he said.

“To deface a memorial that commemorates police officers who have served the state and those who have lost their lives whilst on duty is lower than low.”

No stone would be unturned as officers look for the “cowards” responsible, Police Minister Yasmin Catley said.

“This is a sacred site which honours officers killed in the line of duty,” she said.

“For it to be defaced, is the lowest of acts.

“Our police officers sacrifice their personal safety every day for our state – for that they should be celebrated, not subjected to vile attacks.”

There has been a string of attacks on statues and monuments in NSW and Victoria.

A controversial monument to one of Melbourne’s modern founders put up during the colonial era at Queen Victoria Market centre was cut in half and a nearby memorial to ANZAC soldiers covered in red paint on Saturday.

On Friday, a sandstone heritage statue of British explorer and naval captain James Cook in Sydney’s Randwick had its hand and nose severed and was splattered with red paint.

Earlier, four people decapitated the statue heads of two Australian prime ministers at the Ballarat Botanic Gardens, causing more than $140,000 damage.

The heads of former Labor prime ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd were removed and stolen on Thursday, while the name plates of the 18 remaining statues were covered in spray paint.