The Ballad of Scout and the Alcohol Tag

Illuminated

In 2023, Scout Tzofiya Bolton entered a grocery store in the small town where she lived, carrying a toy gun. The only thing she knows about what happened next is what she's seen on CCTV footage - she pointed the toy gun at the person behind the counter and shouted to give her the money or she'd shoot.

A few hours later, four police officers knocked at her door and took her away. She didn't return home for six months.

Scout was released from prison wearing a 'sobriety tag' – a tool increasingly being used to help people control their problematic alcohol use. This is the story of Scout's relationship with alcohol, and with the tag that monitors her, told through Scout's dazzling poetry. Scout has a long history of psychosis combined with alcoholism. This was the first time she had been sent to prison. The lead-up was a prolonged psychotic episode, characterised by 'grandiose' behaviour. Scout believed she was a famous celebrity. She would wear ballgowns and walk up and down the high street. Everyone was looking at her – because, she believed, she was famous. In the grocery store, she believed she was making an action scene in a film. She'd called up friends to tell them it was going to be a great day's filming. Scout needed help. She found it in prison. For the first time ever, Scout had an extended conversation with a forensic psychiatrist who got to grips with her complex needs. Sobriety tags take a sweat sample every 30 minutes. The data is automatically sent to probation. There are currently around 3,000 people in England and Wales with sobriety tags as part of their probation conditions.

Music and words: Scout Yzofiya Bolton Producers: Andrew Wilkie and Ellen Orchard Sound design: Micky Curling Executive Producer: Phil Maguire

A PRA production for BBC Radio 4