Miami-Dade Schools on alert for TikTok trend that prompts students to steal

DORAL, FL – Miami-Dade Schools warns students about ‘Devious Licks’ TikTok trend that encourages theft and destruction of school property. 

Those who engage in such trend, post videos of themselves allegedly stealing, damaging or showing off items taken from their schools such as wet floor signs, soap dispensers or security cameras.

The TikTok trend, also known as “Diabolical Licks” or “Dastardly Licks” started to become popular in early September after the user jugg4elias posted a video of himself showing a box of disposable masks claimed to have been stolen from a school.

The video accumulated over 345,800 views but then was removed by TikTok while the user’s profile is no longer active on the platform. Despite this, other users started to post videos showcasing similar behavior under the tag “Devious Licks”.

In the light of this, TikTok said last Wednesday that it has banned content uploaded under the “devious licks” tag arguing it violated its community guidelines, reported NBC News. 

“This type of behavior is a crime and will not be tolerated. Students will be disciplined according to the Code of Student Conduct and may face legal consequences, including arrest, which can seriously impact a student’s future,” MDCPS said in a statement Thursday to students and parents.

In the statement, Miami-Dade Schools also encourages parents to speak to their children about the importance of respecting school property and acting responsibly on social media, while informed Miami-Dade Police is investigating a small number of incidents inside schools to determine if they are related with the TikTok trend. 

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