By James Simons-
Happy Slapping is not well known, but is becoming a common occurrence in some parts of Norfolk.
Happy Slapping refers to incidences where bullies randomly slap their victims for no apparent reason.
No reason besides the fact it makes them happy being able to dish out a slap to someone who won’t slap back.
Residences of Ely near Downham market have told the eye of media.com that bullish yobs in the area derive pleasure out of slapping vulnerable younger boys just for the fun of it. They pick their victims at random and compete with their bulky Mayes to see who can dish out the hardest slap.
A parent who didn’t want to be named told the eye of media.com ” this is becoming a bit of a problem and not much is being done about it.Older kids pick on younger kids to slap them, ignoring the impact it can have on them”.
REPORT
Most of the press won’t cover it unless the victim or their parents are willing to identify or report the assault to the police. When I read your story online about children being absent from school I thought i’ l should get in touch and confirm that some children truly skip school for fear of bullying. It can be very traumatic for them”.
“It’s happening in schools too and these bullies threaten them with worse consequences if they report it. A few parents I know have added reports to schools but the children refuse to name the offenders, making it possible for the school authorities to take any action.
“”They won’t even dare go to the police because they don’t want to be seen as grasses( people who report others to police, like informants)
The bullies are usually in their late teens or early twenties, but they are now influencing their younger siblings to extend the bullying to vulnerable children in schools.
Happy Slapping Is A Criminal Offence
The offence of happy slapping amounts to assault, and is punishable in a court of law. Complainants in Ely mentioned a couple of pubs in Ely and Downham Market where happy slapping takes place on various occasions.
The eye of media.com positioned three members of our team to sit in a car for two hours near two pubs in Downham Market, (which we won’t name because we have seen no evidence of happy lapping}whilst we had two boys of 14 and 15 float around whilst we watch to see if any assaults will take place while we were in the vicinity of the area. However, we did not see one assault of happy slapping. Out of 9 random young people we spoke to between the ages of 15 and 27 years of age, 4 of them were aware of happy slapping occurring in the area. Yet, all admit that it victims of happy slapping rarely report it to the police, but suffer the pain and embarrassments silently, or report it to their older siblings or street friends, who sometimes retaliate when the identify the attacker. In many cases, the attacker is never identified after that.
Witness
19 years old Matt Reynolds, a painter from Kings Lynn told the eye of media.com ” happy slapping happens around here. We have guys who just want to feel like they are the main guy in the area, so they express this feeling by slapping any strange face they see around there, exceptionally if you see a young guy around walking like he is the man, dressing a certain way, they may get one of this drunk guys who are also high on coke or weed, or even both, wanting to act hard and slap someone’. Some victims get slapped up to three times by the same person in a space of 2 weeks, or the space of a month. All they can do is avoid those people or befriend gangs to look for them, but nobody reports happy slapping to the police”.
His last statement shows that most victims do not involve the law when they fall victim to happy slapping, but there must be some people who report happy slapping to the police. However, they will be few, and once they are branded negatively on the streets as weak people or grasses, future victims will be less inclined to report it to the police.
Downham Market
Another 22 year old from Kings Lynn who did not want to be named, told the eye of media.com ” it’s a thing of brovado. The hotter the slap, the more confident the guy, and the harder his mates will laugh. They don’t think about the long term effects on their victims.We were told happy slapping is not a daily
We were told happy slapping is not a daily occurrence ,but a random and relatively frequent one. Bullies who happy slap are thoughtless and should face the full weight of the law. They are nothing but egotist individuals who need to be taught a lesson.
Some locals of Downham market, not far from Ely in Norfolk, admitted being aware of the problem, but most of them claimed to be unaware of its existence. Some of the locals admitted that some pub regulars in Downham market can be quite rowdy after a drunken night out, but say there is usually a story behind every violent episode that sometimes takes place. Perpetrators of happy slapping usually have psychological issues and even mental health issues in many cases. Happy slapping yobs need to be identified, prosecuted, and educated about their behavior in jail , so that they come out as better people and understand their actions.