Keep young male focus: WA jail inspector

Western Australia's Inspector of Custodial Services has urged the new Labor state government to develop an alternative for young male offenders if it turns the Wandoo Reintegration Facility into a drug rehabilitation centre for female prisoners.

The McGowan government is also expected to return Wandoo, which is the state's only prison focused on males aged 18 to 28, to the control of the Department of Corrective Services when Serco's contract runs out in November.

Inspector Neil Morgan said the facility was a success and Serco had met or exceeded reasonable expectations.

"If Wandoo is repurposed, an alternative should be developed," Mr Morgan said in a report released on Friday.

He said a young offenders unit recently established at the medium security Acacia Prison was a promising initiative, but a minimum security option was also needed.

"I also strongly urge the government and the Department of Corrective Services to develop and implement programs for young women," he said.

"They are a very high need group but to date they have been neglected in departmental planning."

Mr Morgan called for a relaxation of restrictions at Wandoo, which came after four inmates used a forklift truck to break out in 2015.

Severely curtailing the evening regime was an appropriate immediate response, but it was time to trust the operator and bring the centre into line with other minimum security facilities, he said.