HAPPY SLAPPING
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'Happy slapping' is a fad in which an unsuspecting victim is attacked while an accomplice records the assault (commonly with a camera phone or a smartphone). The name can refer to any type of violent assault, not just slapping, even rape and sexual assaults have been classified as "happy slapping" by the media.[1] Within the United Kingdom, where the term is used most frequently, it is associated with the ned/chav sub-culture. Happy slapping filming attacks seem to be common in modern bullying, and not unique to happy slapping. The core defining feature of happy slapping is an effort by the attacker to make the assault seem like play, though some happy slappers have indulged in extreme violence.
Often those found performing such activities will say they were just "happy slapping", asserting their belief that no significant harm was caused to the victim (often contradicting the obvious) with the only result being humorous entertainment.
Although the concept of filming a crime is an old one, the ease and general availability of video cameras in mobile phones means that such attacks need not be planned carefully beforehand and are more easily watched and circulated for comedy purposes afterwards. Some political and media commentators have accused ''Jackass'', ''Dirty Sanchez'' and ''Bumfights'' of inspiring slappings. Happy slapping can be more violent than a mere slap (causing criticism of its name) and may include a strike or even actual bodily harm. Sometimes the assault is performed with other crimes, such as mugging and rape.
Happy Slapping is known to have started in South London,[1][2] in a format known as "Slap TV", where a happy-slapping video would be recorded, and then watched over by dozens of people like a TV show. The first newspaper article to ever use the phrase 'happy slapping' was "Bullies film fights by phone", published in The Times Educational Supplement on January 21, 2005, in which reporter Michael Shaw described teachers' accounts of the craze in London schools.
In February 2007, an amendment to a law on the prevention of delinquency aimed at criminalizing happy slapping was added by the Parliament of France to a law "on the prevention of the delinquence" based on a proposal from then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.[3] In the final text,[4] the anti-happy-slapping clause appears as the last part of Article 44, which also deals with ambushing law enforcement forces. To summarize:
★ The law equates filming or photographing certain classes of violent crimes, including severe beatings and rape, with being an accomplice of such crimes.
★ The law creates a new felony for broadcasting the images of such crimes, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or a €75,000 fine.
However, the law is not applicable to those who took the above actions in order to obtain evidence in court, or as professional journalism. Professional journalism is delimited in France by the "press card", which is awarded by a commission representing journalist unions and press organizations.[5] As defined by law,[6] a professional journalist is one whose main activity is professional, paid, journalism.
The bill was signed into law on March 5, 2007, despite some organizations, including Reporters without Borders[7] and the French chapter of Wikimedia,[8] arguing that this clause created a legal discrimination in criminal law between professional journalists and ordinary citizens practicing journalism. Specifically, it was argued that citizens filming incidents of police brutality and publishing such information online could be intimidated by law enforcement into remaining silent, or possibly prosecuted for their actions. This criticism was relayed by the international media.[9]
Nicolas Sarkozy, French President, declared to Reporters Without Borders that "the spirit of the law is not to infringe of freedom of information", "However, if the least doubt subsisted, then I'm in favour of a clarification of the law".[10]
By necessity, the incidents are listed by the time of media attention rather than the time of the attacks themselves.
★ England, 9 May 2005 A Plant Hill Arts College Pupil who was left unconscious in a vicious "happy slapping" attack. 16-year-old schoolgirl was beaten up in Blackley. Footage of the attack was circulated on pupils' mobile phones.[11]
★ England, 9 June, 2005: On 25 May 2005, in the Wortley area of Leeds, 17-year-old student Kerry Deville was approached by two men, one of whom shot her in the leg with an air rifle, while the second subsequently recorded her injuries on a camera-phone.[12]
★ England, 18 June, 2005: Police arrested three 14-year-old boys for the suspected rape of an 11-year-old girl who attended their school in Stoke Newington, London. Authorities were alerted when school staff saw footage from the students' mobile phones.[13]
★ England, December, 2005: The murder of David Morley. A 15-year-old-girl, Chelsea O'Mahoney (initially not named in the media for legal reasons)[14] and her co-defendants Reece Sargeant, 21, Darren Case, 18, and a youth, David Blenman, 17, were all found guilty of the manslaughter but not murder of David Morley near Waterloo Station, in London. Barry Lee, 20, and another 17-year-old were cleared of all charges. According to press reports, "The 15-year-old girl had told Morley that she was making a documentary about 'happy slapping' before her gang of friends kicked him to death."[15][16]
★ Denmark, May 10 2006: Yet another case was reported in the newspapers. Two men aged 17 and 19 attacked a woman in Copenhagen, one kicking the victim while the other filmed the incident using a mobile phone. Two plain clothes police officers saw the whole incident, and the assailants were immediately arrested and the mobile phone confiscated.[17]
★ Sweden, September 1 2006: After a 16-year-old boy hospitalized a 15-year-old Balkan boy in the city of Örebro, the latter's 17-year-old sister stabbed and killed the former with a hunting knife and claimed self-defense. The killing was filmed and distributed online. The 15-year old boy was happy slapped, and the video spread online. [2][18]
★ Australia, October 23 2006: Police in Victoria launch an investigation into the content of a DVD, at the centre of the 2006 Melbourne teenage DVD controversy which contained amongst other things, footage of several teenagers sexually assaulting a girl, and setting her hair on fire. Copies of the movie were allegedly sold at the Werribee Secondary College for AUD10.[19][20]
★ England, January 26 2007: 17-year-old Andrew Elvin was jailed for a minimum of 12 years for the murder of Luke Salisbury, who died three days after being attacked by Elvin on March 2 2006. 18-year-old Caine Hallett was sentenced to five years for manslaughter for the same incident, while a Danielle Reeves (18) faces a retrial in May 2006 for manslaughter.[21]
★ England, February 14 2007: One youth - out of a group of eight - set upon a 31 year-old man in Brighton, who turned out to be an amateur boxer. Two of the youths were hospitalised by the intended victim and four arrested for causing an affray.[22]
★ Asbo
1. Does 'happy slapping' exist? Alexis Akwagyiram
2. 'Happy-slap' link to TV shows Chris Johnston
3. Legislative file on the site of the French National Assembly
4. Law #2007-297
5. ''Commission de la carte d'identité des journalistes professionnels''
6. Work Code, article L761-2, article L761-15, article L761-16
7. Communiqué
8. Communiqué
9. Times Online, March 9, 2007; Associated Press, March 11, 2007; Weekly Standard, March 14, 2007
10. Communiqué from Reporters without Borders, April 13, 2007; answer by Nicolas Sarkozy
11. Mother rages at 'slap attackers'
12. Girl shot in 'happy slap' attack
13. Girl's rape 'filmed by teenagers on mobile'
14. Youths jailed for barman killing
15. Feral pack who thrived on violence Chris Summers
16. Jail For Happy Slap Killers
17. "Mænd sparkede tilfældig, mens politiet så det", ''Jyllands-Posten'', May 11, 2006
18. Isosisko pisti kuoliaaksi pikkuveljensä hakkaajan Örebrossa
19. DVD school in despair
20. Teens face DVD porn charges
21. Life for 'happy slap' murder boy
22. Six teens bailed in 'happy slap' inquiry
★ How I unwittingly helped to start the Happy Slaps panic
★ Happy Slaps: Fact and Fiction
Often those found performing such activities will say they were just "happy slapping", asserting their belief that no significant harm was caused to the victim (often contradicting the obvious) with the only result being humorous entertainment.
| Contents |
| Use with video technology |
| History |
| Criminalization in France |
| Media-reported incidents |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Use with video technology
Although the concept of filming a crime is an old one, the ease and general availability of video cameras in mobile phones means that such attacks need not be planned carefully beforehand and are more easily watched and circulated for comedy purposes afterwards. Some political and media commentators have accused ''Jackass'', ''Dirty Sanchez'' and ''Bumfights'' of inspiring slappings. Happy slapping can be more violent than a mere slap (causing criticism of its name) and may include a strike or even actual bodily harm. Sometimes the assault is performed with other crimes, such as mugging and rape.
History
Happy Slapping is known to have started in South London,[1][2] in a format known as "Slap TV", where a happy-slapping video would be recorded, and then watched over by dozens of people like a TV show. The first newspaper article to ever use the phrase 'happy slapping' was "Bullies film fights by phone", published in The Times Educational Supplement on January 21, 2005, in which reporter Michael Shaw described teachers' accounts of the craze in London schools.
Criminalization in France
In February 2007, an amendment to a law on the prevention of delinquency aimed at criminalizing happy slapping was added by the Parliament of France to a law "on the prevention of the delinquence" based on a proposal from then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.[3] In the final text,[4] the anti-happy-slapping clause appears as the last part of Article 44, which also deals with ambushing law enforcement forces. To summarize:
★ The law equates filming or photographing certain classes of violent crimes, including severe beatings and rape, with being an accomplice of such crimes.
★ The law creates a new felony for broadcasting the images of such crimes, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or a €75,000 fine.
However, the law is not applicable to those who took the above actions in order to obtain evidence in court, or as professional journalism. Professional journalism is delimited in France by the "press card", which is awarded by a commission representing journalist unions and press organizations.[5] As defined by law,[6] a professional journalist is one whose main activity is professional, paid, journalism.
The bill was signed into law on March 5, 2007, despite some organizations, including Reporters without Borders[7] and the French chapter of Wikimedia,[8] arguing that this clause created a legal discrimination in criminal law between professional journalists and ordinary citizens practicing journalism. Specifically, it was argued that citizens filming incidents of police brutality and publishing such information online could be intimidated by law enforcement into remaining silent, or possibly prosecuted for their actions. This criticism was relayed by the international media.[9]
Nicolas Sarkozy, French President, declared to Reporters Without Borders that "the spirit of the law is not to infringe of freedom of information", "However, if the least doubt subsisted, then I'm in favour of a clarification of the law".[10]
Media-reported incidents
By necessity, the incidents are listed by the time of media attention rather than the time of the attacks themselves.
★ England, 9 May 2005 A Plant Hill Arts College Pupil who was left unconscious in a vicious "happy slapping" attack. 16-year-old schoolgirl was beaten up in Blackley. Footage of the attack was circulated on pupils' mobile phones.[11]
★ England, 9 June, 2005: On 25 May 2005, in the Wortley area of Leeds, 17-year-old student Kerry Deville was approached by two men, one of whom shot her in the leg with an air rifle, while the second subsequently recorded her injuries on a camera-phone.[12]
★ England, 18 June, 2005: Police arrested three 14-year-old boys for the suspected rape of an 11-year-old girl who attended their school in Stoke Newington, London. Authorities were alerted when school staff saw footage from the students' mobile phones.[13]
★ England, December, 2005: The murder of David Morley. A 15-year-old-girl, Chelsea O'Mahoney (initially not named in the media for legal reasons)[14] and her co-defendants Reece Sargeant, 21, Darren Case, 18, and a youth, David Blenman, 17, were all found guilty of the manslaughter but not murder of David Morley near Waterloo Station, in London. Barry Lee, 20, and another 17-year-old were cleared of all charges. According to press reports, "The 15-year-old girl had told Morley that she was making a documentary about 'happy slapping' before her gang of friends kicked him to death."[15][16]
★ Denmark, May 10 2006: Yet another case was reported in the newspapers. Two men aged 17 and 19 attacked a woman in Copenhagen, one kicking the victim while the other filmed the incident using a mobile phone. Two plain clothes police officers saw the whole incident, and the assailants were immediately arrested and the mobile phone confiscated.[17]
★ Sweden, September 1 2006: After a 16-year-old boy hospitalized a 15-year-old Balkan boy in the city of Örebro, the latter's 17-year-old sister stabbed and killed the former with a hunting knife and claimed self-defense. The killing was filmed and distributed online. The 15-year old boy was happy slapped, and the video spread online. [2][18]
★ Australia, October 23 2006: Police in Victoria launch an investigation into the content of a DVD, at the centre of the 2006 Melbourne teenage DVD controversy which contained amongst other things, footage of several teenagers sexually assaulting a girl, and setting her hair on fire. Copies of the movie were allegedly sold at the Werribee Secondary College for AUD10.[19][20]
★ England, January 26 2007: 17-year-old Andrew Elvin was jailed for a minimum of 12 years for the murder of Luke Salisbury, who died three days after being attacked by Elvin on March 2 2006. 18-year-old Caine Hallett was sentenced to five years for manslaughter for the same incident, while a Danielle Reeves (18) faces a retrial in May 2006 for manslaughter.[21]
★ England, February 14 2007: One youth - out of a group of eight - set upon a 31 year-old man in Brighton, who turned out to be an amateur boxer. Two of the youths were hospitalised by the intended victim and four arrested for causing an affray.[22]
See also
★ Asbo
References
1. Does 'happy slapping' exist? Alexis Akwagyiram
2. 'Happy-slap' link to TV shows Chris Johnston
3. Legislative file on the site of the French National Assembly
4. Law #2007-297
5. ''Commission de la carte d'identité des journalistes professionnels''
6. Work Code, article L761-2, article L761-15, article L761-16
7. Communiqué
8. Communiqué
9. Times Online, March 9, 2007; Associated Press, March 11, 2007; Weekly Standard, March 14, 2007
10. Communiqué from Reporters without Borders, April 13, 2007; answer by Nicolas Sarkozy
11. Mother rages at 'slap attackers'
12. Girl shot in 'happy slap' attack
13. Girl's rape 'filmed by teenagers on mobile'
14. Youths jailed for barman killing
15. Feral pack who thrived on violence Chris Summers
16. Jail For Happy Slap Killers
17. "Mænd sparkede tilfældig, mens politiet så det", ''Jyllands-Posten'', May 11, 2006
18. Isosisko pisti kuoliaaksi pikkuveljensä hakkaajan Örebrossa
19. DVD school in despair
20. Teens face DVD porn charges
21. Life for 'happy slap' murder boy
22. Six teens bailed in 'happy slap' inquiry
External links
★ How I unwittingly helped to start the Happy Slaps panic
★ Happy Slaps: Fact and Fiction
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psst.. try this: add to faves
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