A trend on social media encouraging juvenile delinquency has spurred damage to parks department property in Smithville, Mo.
The Smithville Parks and Recreation Department said the "devious licks" challenge on TikTok emboldens individuals to vandalize property, particularly restrooms, and post about it on social media.
Officials with the department said the bathroom at Courtyard Park was damaged last weekend.
“Due to the continued destruction of city restrooms, many of our restrooms will be locked at this time,” Smithville Parks and Recreation said in a post Monday on its Facebook page. “We encourage anyone who witnesses vandalism to report it to the Smithville Police Department.” The statement also asked residents to talk to their children about the importance of respecting property.
Last week students at Kansas City area high schools damaged restrooms, WDAF-TV reported. According to CNN, the “devious licks” challenge typically involves middle school, high school and college students vandalizing property at school, most commonly bathrooms, and posting about it online.
The parks department released pictures of the vandalized restroom, which had its sink smashed. The picture shows the damaged piece was ripped off the wall and that the front section of the sink was broken.
TikTok has previously said that it will remove videos that show students bragging about the challenge.
