Some B.C. school districts say soap and soap dispensers are going missing from their schools due to a viral TikTok trend.
Known, as Devious Licks, it appears to have started on Sept. 1 and encourages students to put supplies such as paper towels, lab equipment and soap dispensers in their backpack and then show their ‘heist’ on a TikTok video.
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A “lick” refers to a successful theft.
The more difficult objects to obtain, the more ‘licks’ the student gets. For example, class pets or a classmate’s shoes are “small-grade licks” according to Mashable.
Parking signs and school laptops would get more “licks” and really difficult objects to obtain, such as an entire filing cabinet or a security camera would be “referred to as nefarious, diabolical, and godforsaken licks,” Mashable reports.
However, these hijinks are having a negative effect on schools in the province, especially during a pandemic.
The Chilliwack School District told Global News it has seen 42 soap dispensers go missing so far.
“Unfortunately this is occurring at a time when there is a worldwide supply issue, partly due to this trend and partly due to supply issues around plastic,” the district said in a statement.
“It is therefore difficult to replace all of the missing dispensers.”
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North Vancouver’s School District said it has also seen a rise in these types of incidents.
“In a short period of time, this ‘challenge’ has already led to several acts of vandalism, theft and destruction of property,” Brad Baker, the district principal said in a letter.
“Soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers and signage have been forcibly removed from walls, wall mirrors have been damaged, and a number of classroom-based items have been stolen.”
Baker said that while this challenge may seem harmless to those students participating, it is “alarming, inappropriate, and illegal and could have long-term consequences for the students involved.
“As we have shared with our school district community throughout COVID-19, the health and safety of our students and staff are a priority. When soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers, which are necessary to facilitate good hand hygiene, are removed from bathrooms, and particularly, single-stall bathrooms, bathroom spaces become unusable.”
Baker said students and staff should expect reduced bathroom access while the district waits for replacements and supplies to arrive.
He added when they learn the identities of the students involved, they can expect to meet with their school’s administration team to learn of the consequences of their actions, which may include recovery costs for damaged property.
TikTok told Insider that it will be removing content and hashtags relating to the Devious Licks trend as they violate rules relating to criminal activity.