Bullying awareness: is it working?

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The District Attorney's Office said it’s gotten 14 calls this week alone in reference to its Bully Blocker Program.

For the past six months, bully blocker has been a platform for victims to report bullying abuse but how is the DA going about curbing the problem?

From concerts to speeches and videos, students in the Mobile County School System are regularly being educated on  bullying.

Jayne Carson, Coordinator of the Helping Families Initiative said its goal is to help trouble students before "they get into serious trouble."

"Now we are taking another step," she said of the Bully Blocker program, which she also heads.

Bullying victims can anonymously report issues by texting the DA's office. Then, Carson says, she and the DA's office take action.

Carson said, "With in 24-48 hours I will receive that text and make contact and get as much information as I can. I pass that along usually to the school administration. They follow up on it, if they need our support for taking the case further they can do that."

She said, in some cases harassment charges can be filed and, in some, bullies can even face assault charges.

Carson said the DA's office has come across three cases that resulted in arrests because the parents went straight to police instead of going through the school because it was an assault that was posted on the internet.

She said the juveniles involved did have previous bullying complaints.

The goal is to bring attention to the problem and stop it.

Carson said the program not just about making victims feel better and safe; it's also about the future of all the kids involved.

She added, "Statistics show us that kids who are bullies are more likely to be arrested and end up in prison also more likely to drop out of school and also have more social problem in life."

The program is meant to turn offenders in a different direction while giving victims a safe way to take action.