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Northern Territory police are searching for two teenagers who escaped from Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre, ahead of planned transfers to Darwin.
Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said the two 17-year-olds climbed onto the roof around 5:30pm on Tuesday, where officers attempted to negotiate with them to come down safely.
"Shortly after, the young people then escaped the perimeter by using materials they had forcibly removed from the roof as a tool to shield themselves from razor wire as they climbed over the fence," he said in a statement.
NT police said they were undertaking an "extensive" search for the teens around Alice Springs using sniffer dogs and drones.
The teenagers escaped by climbing over the facility's fence. (105.7 ABC Darwin: Emilia Terzon)
Officers said they were investigating whether the teenagers fled in a stolen car seen driving dangerously on Ilparpa Road later in the evening.
The incident comes a week after the government announced it would transfer all Alice Springs youth detainees to a new purpose-built youth detention facility in Darwin to free up beds for adult prisoners.
The measures form part of the government's response to record overcrowding in NT prisons.
The transfers of Alice Springs youth detainees are planned from December, after children and teenagers at Darwin's Don Dale Youth Detention Centre move to the new youth facility.
NT government blames Labor for prisoner escape
During a press conference on Wednesday, Chief Minister Finocchiaro blamed the escape on the previous government.
Lia Finocchiaro says the previous government is responsible. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
"The Labor government promised Territorians that a new youth justice facility in Alice Springs would cost the Territory $13 million," she said.
"That blew out to nearly $40 million and just a few months into that facility being opened, it can't keep prisoners in it," she said.
But justice advocate and former prisoner Renae 'Rocket' Bretherton said she believed the escape was a foreseeable reaction to the government's plan to move youth prisoners 1,500 kilometres north to Darwin.
"Those kids would be so worried," she said.
"They have no idea what's going to happen."
Renae 'Rocket' Bretherton says the escapees are likely worried about moving to Darwin. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Further prisoner transfers planned
Last week, the government announced it would convert the newly-refurbished Alice Springs youth detention centre into an adult women's prison as an interim measure before a new 150-bed facility is built.
Some 36 adult female prisoners from Alice Springs were flown to Darwin's adult prison over the weekend to free up beds for male prisoners and alleviate pressure in police watch houses.
Once the Alice Springs youth detainees are moved to the new facility in Darwin, those women will be sent to the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre.
In response to safety concerns from the union representing NT prison guards, the corrections department said it had implemented "restricted regimes" to ensure staff and prisoner safety "especially during times of high operational demands."
"These measures may occur for various operational reasons, including staff shortages, due to increased prisoner numbers," the statement said.
In a statement, deputy opposition leader Dheran Young did not directly answer whether Labor accepted blame for the corrections crisis but urged the government to "stop attention seeking for headlines."
"The community also wants to see investment into factors that reduce crime in the first place, including education, pathways to a job and programs like 'Back on Track'," he said.