Banksia Hill call-outs 'drain police time'

West Australian Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan says officers are spending far too much time investigating low-level problems at Perth's juvenile detention centre.

Police have reportedly been called to Banksia Hill in the southern suburbs more than 70 times this year for offences including vandalism and illegal drugs.

"Some of them are necessary - a lot of it, though, is for damage complaints and disturbances which we would consider low level," Mr O'Callaghan told 6PR radio on Friday.

Corrective Services Commissioner James McMahon admitted investigating the matters were time-consuming for police but major disturbances, which he didn't like to call riots, had to be solved in the safest way possible.

"To a degree, it's the way it is but ... we are always looking for better ways to do things," Mr McMahon told the broadcaster.