Guards demand batons to return STAFF are refusing to return to duty at Western Australia's only youth detention centre unless they are issued batons and pepper spray to defend themselves against attack from young offenders they claim are violent, mentally ill or have special needs because of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The union representing WA's 199 youth custodial officers confirmed yesterday the workers wanted a select group of their colleagues to be allowed to carry batons and chemical spray for "rapid response" to emergencies inside the Banksia Hill detention centre where a riot broke out on January 20, trashing the facility.