New Brunswick getting new, safer vans to transport prisoners

The Department of Justice and Public Safety is taking possession of nine new vans for transporting prisoners and detainees that include safety features not found in existing Sheriffs Service vans.

The new vehicles are leased by the provincial governmentand then "upfitted" in Dieppe by Malley Industries.

• Sheriff Services van similar to this is used to transport inmates in N.B.
• Sheriffs frustrated by problems with GPS units in vans

They come equipped with video cameras and, instead of cages, individual cells for detainees.

"The new vehicles are not being introduced to address any specific security or safety concern," said Elaine Bell, a spokesperson forthe Department of Justice and Public Safety.

"But as with all new vehicles, new safety options and features are available which enhance the safety of the vehicle in question."

2012 accident

In 2012, a van carrying three detainees and two sheriffs lost control on an icy Highway 11 while travelling from the Dalhousie Regional Correction Centre to the courthouses in Bathurst and Miramichi.

The vehicle overturned and rolled multiple times.

The three detainees were locked in two steel cages in the back of the van.

John Cranton, an eyewitnesswho stopped to assist following the crash, said the detainees were bounced "like marbles in a can."

All three were hurt, as were both of the sheriffs.

Cranton said when the doors at the back of the van were opened he saw three injured and dazed men in handcuffs, one of them lying apparently unconscious on the floor with blood oozing from his head.

Lawsuits by prisoners

Four years after the incident, lawsuits launched by two of the prisoners, Michael Genova and Marcus Warren Augustine, are still winding through the courts.

In his statement of claim, Genova said he suffered a broken vertebrae, shattered ribs and a bulging disk.

Augustine's claim said he had fractures in the chest area and required surgery.

The claims have not been proven in court.

Information from the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure describes the new vehicles as "aluminum six cell" prisoner transports.

$31,600 to upgradeeachvehicle

The province is paying $31,600 to upgradeeachvehicleto make it suitablefor detainee transportation.

The four-year lease cost per van (before conversion)is $17,520 with a $9,000 buyout at the end of the lease.

"The security features of these upfitted vans are confidential for the safety and protection of our employees and other passengers," said department spokesperson Sarah Bustard in a statement.