Episode 9 - Bullying

Al's arrival back on G wing after her spell down the block for her part in the protest is bad news for Tina O'Kane. Al is a bully and uses her strength to pick on those who seem vulnerable. Soon after Snowball is put back on the wing and faces a hostile reaction from everyone.

Bullying happens in prisons just as it does in schools, offices and everywhere else where people are living or working together and constantly trying to create a pecking order. In prisons it is particularly serious because there is nowhere to go - the victim is unable to just leave and may not have any allies. Telling someone in authority - a member of staff for example - what is going on may not feel like an option because if they don't take the right action it might make the situation a lot worse.

Over recent years the Prison Service has worked hard to deal with bullying. In the past the victim was often moved to another part of the prison, leaving the bully feeling very powerful. Now efforts are made to work with the situation to solve the underlying problem without moving either perpetrator or victim, or if that is impossible the bully is the one who is moved.

Of course it is always difficult for Prison Staff to know what is going on if no-one is prepared to tell them. The Scottish Prison Service has undertaken detailed surveys of prisoners in which the prisoners have been asked to identify areas of the prison where they have felt unsafe. The prison staff are then able to ensure that they keep a close eye on those areas to reduce the problem.

Many bullies have previously been the victims of bullying themselves. With this group of people prison psychologists are sometimes able to work successfully by getting them to empathise with the victim. Work has also been done with prisoners to help them find ways of resolving conflict which do not involve violence.