The latest escape came on Wednesday when 23-year-old Jake Skaines was reported missing from the Shooters Hill facility about 3pm.

Officers attached to the Chifley local area command searched the area but could find no trace of the inmate.

It was the second time this month that inmates had escaped the facility after two men fled on December 8.

They were arrested in Goulburn a day later.

A spokesperson for Corrective Services said the department was aware of the run of jailbreaks.

“Oberon Correctional Centre houses minimum security young offenders and is designed accordingly. It is not designed as a secure prison,” the spokesperson said.

“The recent escapes are being thoroughly investigated and other practices reviewed to determine whether any operational changes are needed at the centre.”

Skaines [pictured], who had been jailed on traffic and property offences, is described as being of Caucasian appearance and 162 centimetres tall.

He is of medium build and was last seen wearing prison greens.

Skaines has tattoos on his left arm, including the word “Auzzie”, a star symbol and a Southern Cross. Police warned the public not to approach the man but to instead contact Triple-0 immediately.

He remained at large late yesterday and Chifley crime manager Inspector Luke Rankin said officers were following a number of leads.

“We are making inquiries through Corrective Services about who has visited the inmate or corresponded with him while in jail,” Inspector Rankin said.

“We are also looking at the history we know of him and some of his acquaintances.”

A union delegate representing the state’s prison officers said a booming prison population had put increased pressure on prison staff.

Public Service Association prison officers vocational branch chairperson Steve McMahon said the union was always advocating for more staff.

“We walk a very line in this location with regard to staff numbers but a few years ago there was a downward adjustment of numbers there,” he said.

Mr McMahon said the Shooters Hill facility featured a locked compound where inmates were kept for much of their stay but, as minimum security prisoners, they also spent considerable time working outside of the compound among the community.

He said prison officers took it hard whenever there was an escape on their watch.

“We pride ourselves on providing a very pro-fessional service to the public of NSW and there is always a bit of second guessing when this happens, especially if you were on duty at the time,” Mr McMahon said.

“Prison officers will generally ask themselves if they missed something important that if it had been picked up might have prevented an escape.”

Oberon mayor John McMahon yesterday said the escapes had not particularly concerned local residents as escapees tended to “head south towards Goulburn or try to get back to Sydney”.

But he said isolated property owners closer to the Shooters Hill facility would be worried by the recent run of escapes.