CORRECTIONAL Services officers said appeals for increased security and manpower in the detention camps had been repeatedly ignored by the Government.
They said the camps were designed more than a decade ago and were no longer suitable to deal with the hostile atmosphere between inmates and staff.
The staff had proposed strengthening security in the camps to come up to the standard of minimum-security prisons, said Yum Pui, chief spokesman for the CSD Officers' Association.
'More and more riots have broken out but the Government just turns a blind eye to our requests,' he said.
The staff had specifically called for metal detectors to help search for weapons and better wire fences to separate the camp sectors.
Mr Yum said the camps were designed when there was less emphasis on security and more on preparing the boat people for resettlement as refugees.
But now the boat people had been told they did not qualify for refugee status there was more tension in the camps.