15 August 2023 , 09:49
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Parents have been issued a warning after teenagers took paracetamol to see who could stay in hospital the longest as part of what is claimed to be a new "TikTok challenge".
The dangerous craze took place in Southampton over the weekend, just days after youngsters had planned a mass looting session in Oxford Street on social media.
Donna Jones, chairman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, has called on parents to "instil a sense of what is right and wrong" in their children. She is calling for the teens to be fined by magistrates’ courts if they participate in such crimes.
The new chair commented: "These TikTok flash mobs are ridiculous. We’ve had a load of kids in Southampton take paracetamol over the weekend following a TikTok challenge to see who can get hospitalised and stay in there the longest.
"Parents have a responsibility to sit down and speak to these kids about what is going on TikTok, how these things are not fun, people will die, it is not sensible to do this and don’t feel the peer pressure that you have to."
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Ms Jones named TikTok specifically but the social media company said it has “seen no evidence to support these claims” and has not located any content relevant to the paracetamol challenge.
Social media user Mizzy was spotted on Oxford Street (@mizzyisbanned/Twitter)
Mizzy was issued a dispersal order for attending the scenes of the looting (@mizzyisbanned/Twitter)It comes after the Met Police were forced to position officers on Oxford Street and issue a dispersal order in an attempt to control the planned social media crimes, reports Daily Mail. It was also reported that officers had to be diverted to shopping districts in Southend and Bexleyheath to prevent a repeat of what had happened during the week.
The Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner said parents and guardians need to "get a grip" and have "strong words" with their children if they were involved. She highlighted that police resources are "already stretched." She added: "There needs to be some recognition that police resources are already stretched. Because they were turning up to this flash mob-looting TikTok planned event in Oxford Street, they weren’t then turning up to serious crimes like domestic violence where people’s lives were at risk, not turning up to road traffic accidents where they could have been literally saving people’s lives."
A string of dispersal orders have been issued in a bid to prevent more looting (PA)Ms Jones warned of the "dangerous" impact of the crimes, however, did note that the majority of social media isn't used to spread the involvement in crimes. She continued: "These crazes and phases and flash mob-type things can be dangerous. This was organised theft, organised looting – TikTok is being used to facilitate crime in those incidents. The majority of TikTok is not used in this way, but certainly, in these incidents, it is being used as a way to facilitate mass looting and one of the biggest planned shoplifting events in the country we have had in years."
The police chair further said that the company could face repercussions "if they don’t govern their social media channels effectively. Ms Jones added: "If it is not closing this down and preventing these challenges which are facilitating criminal activity, I could see some fines for them. It’s certainly something the Government should be looking at. TikTok have got a part to play here."
TikTok have claimed other platforms were responsible for the Oxford Street looting and denied responsibility. The platform further said that they cannot locate any content relating to the paracetamol challenge or the Oxford Street looting. A spokesperson said: "We have seen no evidence to support these claims and we have zero tolerance for content facilitating or encouraging criminal activities. We have over 40,000 safety professionals dedicated to keeping TikTok safe – if we find content of this nature, we remove it and actively engage with law enforcement on these issues."