National Preventive Mechanism Third Annual Report 2011–12 • Decency, humanity and respect for legal rights: The individual prisoner should be treated in such a manner as to preserve their human rights, preserve human dignity, respect individuality and support family ties. Treatment of the prisoner should be fair and consistent, and the prisoner should not be treated outside the law and the Prison Rules. The prisoner should be held in clean and hygienic conditions, which promote selfrespect. During the inspection, one source of evidence was a survey in which prisoners were asked how well they got on with escort staff. The survey results indicated that relationships between staff and prisoners were generally good: 80% of prisoners said they got on ‘okay’, ‘fairly well’ or ‘very well’ with staff, while 12% said they got on with them either ‘fairly badly’ or ‘very badly’. HMIPS noted that its inspection was conducted during a period when escort services were in a state of transition. From 11 January 2012, escorts were provided by G4S (which took over from Reliance Custodial Services, the previous provider). This re-tendering process had an impact on conditions for prisoners. Reliance had kept older vehicles in service instead of replacing them, and the risk of breakdown was significant. New vehicles have been brought into service since the new contract was awarded. HMIPS praised the regular first aid training for escort staff and noted that they had a standardised induction, which was good practice but had not yet been adopted across Scotland. 28 HMIPS found that the providers managed the high number of escorts in Scotland’s central belt well, but that escorts to and from remote courts in the Highlands and Islands were more challenging. Nonetheless, this was managed without significant adverse effect on prisoners. In its inspection of escorts, as well as its regular prison inspections, HMIPS noted the extraordinary distances some prisoners travelled to appear in court. This was particularly the case for women prisoners, most of whom were held in Cornton Vale in Stirling but who may be required to appear at courts across Scotland. HMIPS recommended that the Scottish Prison Service and the Scottish Court Service work together to introduce video conference links between prisons and courts, particularly remote courts. Video links will reduce the need for prisoners to travel long distances for what can often be very short court appearances, or appearances that can be cancelled at short notice. There was concern about the possibility of exposing prisoners to public scrutiny when they arrived at some courts or en route from their cell to the courtroom. While this tended to be well managed, risks to the safety of prisoners and escort staff arising from public interference remained. HMIPS recommended that there should be urgent action to address these risks at courts in Arbroath and Tain in particular. England and Wales As in Scotland, arrangements for escorting prisoners to and from court and on inter-prison transfer in England and Wales underwent significant changes in 2011–12. From 29 August 2011, prison escort contracts were awarded to two new providers – Serco Wincanton supplies escorts for London and the east of England, while GEOAmey supplies the rest of England