ADDITIONAL security measures are being put in place at Banksia Hill Detention Centre in Canning Vale after two inmates recently escaped from the facility.
The pair, who have since been arrested, allegedly escaped from the youth detention centre earlier this month through a construction site at the prison.
Corrective Services Minister Murray Cowper said additional security measures around the construction site were being installed, including a 3.6-metre high management fence, which would be erected within three weeks.
He said emergency response group officers would maintain a presence at the prison until the fence was completed.
Community and Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association branch secretary Toni Walkington said the union demanded the security upgrade after detainees were in lockdown for about 50 hours following the escape.
“Our members refused to unlock the children from their cells until demands for improved safety were addressed,” she said.
Opposition spokesman Fran Logan said the security measures should have been put in place sooner, when other breaches were identified.
He said having a construction site operating inside a working prison was a risk to the safety of the community.
Ms Walkington said members had previously complained of security issues at the centre.
“The custodial officers at these centres have suffered from serious attacks and are currently campaigning to be included in mandatory sentencing laws because working in detention centres is a dangerous job,” she said.
“The safety and security of everyone at the site, including detainees and construction staff, should never be compromised, but this (incident) proves it has been.”
Mr Cowper said he had ordered an investigation into the escape to determine how the offenders were able to leave the facility and address any security issues. He said the construction works at Banksia Hill were a part of the site’s expansion.