Advocates call for independent review after 14-hour riot at youth detention centre

Juvenile detainee advocates are calling for an independent review into the a Perth detention centre, claiming inmates have been held in poor and illegal conditions.

Advocates and inmates' family members are questioning the living conditions at the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre following a 14-hour riot this week, involving almost 50 inmates.

"They are being treated in such a way that they are being detained (for) 20 hours a day, 21 hours a day, 22 hours a day," mental health advocate Megan Krakouer said.

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The President of the Children's Court, Denis Reynolds, believes the facility has been operating illegally as advocates call for an independent review.

"For the last several years and particularly the last 18 months the children have been managed unlawfully," he said.

Activists believe there is a lack of transparency from the state government on how detainees are being treated at the detention centre.

Lawyers have already begun preparing for a third class action suit against the facility, while advocates are planning a protest at the facility on Sunday.

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Premier Mark McGowan has also come under fire for his comments about the riot, calling it an "act of terrorism".

"Terrorism is the use of violence and fear to achieve ideological aims — who is doing that today in WA? The premier of WA," class action lawyer Stewart Levitt said.

The detention centre is still open and holding inmates following the riot, despite significant damage to the building.

It is still unclear whether the building will be able to continue operating safely in its current condition.