Bullying in Prisons

This is a report on a two- year study conducted in four United Kingdom penal establishments shortly after the introduction of a new Prison Service bullying policy in 1993. It describes the ways in which such harmful behaviour as insults, threats, assaults and exclusion were used in building bullying relationships, and how predatory inmates use this form of domination. It discusses the social context which contributes to bullying through implicit approval of victimisation, distain of vulnerable prisoners, and reluctance to share information with staff. The ways in which prisoners respond to victimisation, and the techniques they use to try to ensure personal safety, are outlined, as are the responses of staff, their awareness of Prison Service policies, and their use of discretion in disciplining prisoners. Institutional responses to the problem, including special units for vulnerable prisoners, or for those who have been identified as bullies are described. The research illustrates how difficult it is to define bullying in practice, for few instances were universally seen as bullying, and they took place in an environment where threats, verbal abuse and assaults are commonplace. The report recommends that efforts to make prisons safer should concentrate on the broader concept of victimisation, rather than on the more ambiguous notion of bullying.