Police in the ACT have arrested one of two men who escaped from Canberra's jail late on Friday evening.

Authorities were alerted by a member of the public who spotted Patrick McCurley, 28, driving in the Canberra suburb of Weston Creek about 5:00pm on Sunday.

The car believed to have been driven by escapee Patrick McCurley. ( ABC News )

Officers stopped the car on Majura Road in Majura about an hour later and McCurley was taken back into custody.

McCurley and fellow detainee Jacob McDonald, 21, are believed to have escaped from the Alexander Maconochie Centre late on Friday night by scaling a perimeter fence.

Both had been on remand and housed in a minimum security cottage.

It was the first successful escape from the centre since it opened in 2008.

Both men were being held in remand at the jail — McCurley for alleged motor vehicle offences and MacDonald for alleged property and burglary offences.

Police will continue their search for MacDonald, who is still at large.

The ACT Government has launched an inquiry into security at the centre.