Where do you think you are? 19th century western America? Though I like the idea of swift and heavy handed justice, it's just not practical! However, I do see some inherent humor in your post, even if it was unintentional.

Avoidance is a pretty good move, but sometimes it's not practical/possible, and that's when you'll have to lay your cards on the table. What if you beat the snot out of some kids? Someone's bound to get up in arms about the mistreatment of their precious little snowflake. I like the picture route, though that assumes they'll have the good sense to consider the repercussions, and not be all "Nice phone, gimme!" I don't know if there's any good answer, it's a wild world out there.