Media reports have revealed serious allegations of excessive force in Western Australia's only youth detention centre, Banksia Hill.

Officers at Banksia Hill have been accused of regularly using the ‘folding-up’ or ‘hogtie’ position, with footage showing officers twisting a young boy's legs until they are crossed behind him, and then sitting on them.

The technique has been banned in Queensland youth detention centres due to the risk of suffocation and death.

The Western Australian Department of Justice says the restraint is “only authorised for officers to use as a last resort, in the most extreme circumstances, for as little time as possible, where there is a safety risk to staff and other detainees”.

The department says its approved restraint techniques “should not cause pain or injury”.

More details are accessible here.

A former head of the state’s Children's Court has called for a Royal Commission into WA’s juvenile justice system.