Police make it big on TikTok
The videos shared by the Metropolitan Police on the TikTok site are immensely popular. In the recordings, officers dressed in uniforms sing and dance, and complete various challenges. Unsurprisingly, the National Police Chief Council isn t so amused.
In a bid to keep spirits high amid the coronavirus pandemic, some London police officers took to video-sharing site TikTok where they complete various challenges.
@butlerray ##simbachallange ##simba ##fyp ##foryourpage ##foryoupage ##funny ##police ##metpolice ##circleoflife
The so-called „lip syncing” videos, where pre-recorded soundtracks are placed into different contexts, are immensely popular.
@i_love_cake90 Massive shout out to everyone doing their bit! We got this guys Proud to be frontline! ##covid19 ##stayathome ##staysafe ##frontline ##ukpolice
@xo._zoet91 Still going strong! ##foryoupage ##policeoftiktok ##houseoftiktok ##fyp ##london ##themet ##viral ️
Some videos are simply recorded for fun, as demonstrated by the short clip picked by the Daily Mail.
The videos shared by the Tooting town police on Twitter are a sweeping success.
Challenged by @OfficialHARIBO who this time helped with props. PCs Knellar & Watford used their popular method to spread their message, #stayathome #washyourhands #socialdistance. An entertaining video to lift spirits but with a serious message. Stop the spread #StaySafeStayHome pic.twitter.com/DV5Rkg7G11
— Tooting Town Police (@MPSTootingTnC) April 8, 2020
Obviously, not everyone is amused by police officers in uniforms fooling around online. From a National Police Chiefs Council point of view, we are not encouraging police officers „to take part in dancing, rapping TikTok challenges”, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said. Liverpool s police chief stressed that „such behaviour is wholly unprofessional and will not tolerated by the force.”