International

The Happy Slappers on the prowl

The attacks have become menacing and a phenomenon across the U.K.

LONDON: In one video clip, labelled B**** Slap, a youth approaches a woman at a bus stop and punches her in the face.

In another, Knockout Punch, a group of boys wearing uniforms are shown leading another boy across an unidentified school playground before flooring him with a single blow to the head.

Welcome to the disturbing world of the "happy slappers" — a youth craze in which groups of teenagers armed with camera phones slap or mug unsuspecting children or passers-by while capturing the attacks on 3g technology.

The fad, which began as a craze on the U.K. garage music scene before catching on in school playgrounds across London last year, is now a nationwide phenomenon.

The attacks have become more menacing, with increasing numbers of violent assaults and adult victims.

In London, British Transport police have investigated 200 happy slapping incidents in the past six months, with eight people charged with attacks at south London stations and bus stops in January alone.

The Metropolitan police have no overall figures but recorded a number of attacks in London boroughs earlier this year.

Following random attacks in December on pupils at the Godolphin and Latymer girls' school in Hammersmith, London, the police posted extra officers in the area.

But as police have become more vigilant, the gangs have become more sophisticated, seeking victims in parks or public areas where their crimes are unlikely to be spotted by the authorities or captured on CCTV.

Liz Carnell, the director of Bullying Online, a Yorkshire-based charity set up to combat bullying in schools, said that since the start of the year she has heard of increasing attacks both on children and on adults. But many incidents are not reported.

"In most cases the worst that happens is a minor scratch or a bruised ego," she said.

"What the people behind these attacks have to understand is that technically they are committing an assault. And if they then upload the images on to the Internet or a phone system they could be prosecuted for harassment."Many victims do not realise they have been happy slapped until after the event. Earlier this month, James Silver, 34, a freelance journalist, was attacked while jogging on the South Bank in London. While one youth blocked his path, another hit him with a rolled-up magazine. When he spun around, another teenager — who had been hiding behind nearby scaffolding — leapt out and hit him hard in the head.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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