February 3, 2005
Happy slap culprits face suspension
The violent craze - which has already swept across London - which involves slapping an innocent victim around the face has caught on in St Albans' schools, according to the St Albans Observer.
"The so called "happy slappers" attack their peers or complete strangers while an accomplice captures the action on a camera phone.
The craze has become such a problem in Marlborough School, Watling Street, that a warning has been posted in the weekly newsletter telling pupils they will be excluded from school if they are caught happy slapping.
The headteacher warned that if pupils are caught slapping someone they will be suspended from school for a fixed period.
Two students have already been sent home for breaching the ban last week.
Other local schools have also said they are aware of the problem and are clamping down on it."
And yet another article today on assaults with mobile phones sweeping Croyden, according to the The Croydon Guardian "Sickeningly, the footage is then sent by the gangs to their friends' mobiles and proudly displayed on the internet.
And the attacks are not just on other children.
Increasingly, police are receiving reports of elderly men and lone women being targeted.."
Previous posts:
-- Schools Ban Camera Phones Amid 'Happy Slapping' Craze
-- Putting the photos in perspective
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