Parents told to 'get a grip' on social media yobs after Oxford Street chaos
15 August 2023, 00:44
Parents have been told to "get a grip" and stop their children getting involved in dangerous social media trends.
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Donna Jones, the new chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), issued the warning after youths descended on Oxford Street last week.
Huge crowds clashed with police after a social media call for a "shoplifting rampage".
Ms Jones said parents should speak to their children to prevent them getting involved in similar social media crazes which are "facilitating criminal activity".
She called for young people to be fined by magistrates’ courts if they end up joining looters.
Ex-London Police Officer reacts to spike in crime on Oxford Street
"These TikTok flash mobs are ridiculous," Ms Jones told the Mail.
"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 need to get a grip of what their children are doing.
"It’s not for the police to instil a sense of what is right and wrong, it is for the parents. It’s not down to the police to prevent these things happening.
"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."
She added that any parent who believed their child had been involved in the Oxford Street chaos "should be sitting down with them and having a strong word with them".
"What they did was completely criminal," she said.
"It could completely screw up their future in terms of employment opportunities if they are arrested or receive a caution.
"There needs to be a push back here, societally, to say to parents, 'what are you doing to make sure that your kids know that this is not acceptable behaviour?'"
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Ms Jones said the crazes added extra pressure on police resources which were already stretched.
She went on to say that companies behind social media platforms like TikTok could be fined for hosting content if it leads to crime on a mass scale.
TikTok previously denied being responsible for the carnage on Oxford Street, saying other platforms had been used to promote it.
A spokesman 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."
Nine people were arrested during the incident after police issued 34 people with dispersal orders.
