Prison security is under review after an inmate of Ashley Youth Detention Centre went on the run for more than 12 hours.
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The 16-year-old detainee escaped from custody at 10am on Friday after being treated at the Launceston General Hospital.
He was handcuffed, dressed in a prison uniform and being escorted by two security officers at the time.
The escape prompted a large-scale police hunt, which ended after a tipoff led to the teenager being found in a South Launceston house just before 11pm.
"Eight uniform and CIB police attended the address and a short time after entering the premises a 16-year-old youth was arrested," Detective Sergeant Joe Riley, of Launceston's criminal investigation branch, said.
"The youth was returned to Ashley Youth Detention Centre and is to be charged with escape of lawful custody."
The state government contracts out security escorts for Ashley detainees to Platinum Security.
When contacted yesterday, a representative of the Launceston company declined to comment.
The escape has prompted Children's Minister Michelle O'Byrne to ask for a review of security procedures for detainees being transported to and from Ashley.
"There is, unfortunately, always a heightened risk the moment you take them on any journey and we minimise that as much as possible," she said.
"I've asked the department for a review to find out: A, if we've done everything we should have done; and B, whether there may be something else we can do (to improve security)."
She said it was the third time that particular detainee had been treated at the hospital while in custody.
The last time an Ashley detainee escaped while being transported was in January 2009.
Tim Jacobson, of the Health and Community Services Union, said the only way the government could guarantee security was to do the work in- house.
"There's been review, after review, after review," Mr Jacobson said.
"The minister should find out what happened, and what the circumstances were in this particular case, but at the end of the day if the government wants the capacity to manage the quality of security the best way to do that is to provide that service themselves."
