Broadspectrum, Department of Justice to investigate after prisoner has thumb severed in prison van door

An investigation is under way into how a man had part of his thumb severed in a prison van door last weekend after facing court. The West Australian can reveal the incident happened last Sunday as the 62-year-old man was being loaded into the prisoner transport vehicle after facing the Northbridge Magistrate’s Court. The man was being loaded into the Broadspectrum vehicle in the sally port area of the Perth Watch House when his thumb was caught in the vehicle’s door. Sources say part of the man’s thumb fell to the floor after being severed. In a statement Broadspectrum confirmed an investigation was being conducted into the incident. The company would only say that the man’s thumb was “injured.” “He was treated by the resident nurse at the Watch House before being transferred by ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital,” the statement said. “He was discharged before being transferred to Hakea Prison. “All aspects of the incident will be investigated. “The Department of Justice will then review the investigation.” The man underwent emergency surgery at RPH on the Sunday but was discharged the next day. Broadspectrum has been responsible for transporting WA prisoners to and from jails and court buildings since 2017, after taking over from Serco. However the company has come under scrutiny in recent years over several prisoner escapes. In 2019 prisoner Laurie Dodd escaped from two of its workers at Royal Perth Hospital. Dodd, a serial prison escapee, fled from RPH after one of the two Broadspectrum officers left the hospital room to heat a meal. Dodd was recaptured after several days on the run. Broadspectrum was later fined $103,000 over the incident. Last year a teenage prisoner managed to break free from Broadspectrum staff shortly after he was put on a plane at Karratha Airport. The inmate — a convicted robber and burglar — was on the run for about 40 minutes before he was recaptured by police not far from the airport.