Man in uniform conned cops for a month

Perth's main lockup, the Perth Watch House. Photo / AAP

An 18-year-old man who allegedly donned a police uniform to impersonate an officer for a month at Perth's main criminal lockup may have been assisted by a serving officer, West Australian police have admitted.

WA police were on Tuesday slow to comment on the security breach, which was revealed in the media on Monday.

But after opposition police spokeswoman Michelle Roberts said the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) should investigate the matter, police issued a statement saying its internal inquiry would in part focus on whether the imposter had assistance from a serving police officer.

A 25-year-old custody officer working the Perth Watch House facility was stood down on Friday as Internal Affairs Unit detectives investigated whether there were links between the two men, police said.

Police said the internal investigation began in the early hours of Friday and the 18-year-old was arrested soon after.

The man has since been charged with five counts of burglary, six counts of stealing, five counts of trespass, 10 counts of impersonating a public officer and nine counts of possession of police clothing.

He allegedly stole police uniforms, a baton, handcuffs, boots, a notebook, a proximity access card, and other items from the facility last month.

Police said they were also investigating how the accused came to possess a gun holster and replica firearm.

They were looking into the extent of access the accused had to police facilities prior to May but so far it appeared he did not use police computers and had no interaction with people in custody.

-AAP