British police are using the Dolly Parton Challenge to ask public for help in catching wanted suspects

Megan Sims
·3 min read
The Dolly Parton Challenge has taken the internet by storm — and might even be a helpful tool for fighting crime. (Photo: CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Dolly Parton Challenge has taken the internet by storm — and might even be a helpful tool for fighting crime. (Photo: CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Last week, the so-called Dolly Parton Challenge took social media by storm, and had many users, including celebrities, joining the trend. Now, two British police departments have decided to take advantage of the trend to help them get wanted crime suspects off the streets.

On Tuesday, the Cleveland Police UK, in northeastern England, got in on the viral challenge by posting a picture of a wanted suspect named Scott Mizsei, 31, to Twitter. According to the tweet, Mizsei was wanted in connection with several offenses, including aggravated burglary. Just like in the Dolly Parton Challenge, Cleveland Police posted four pictures of the suspect, one each for Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram and Tinder.

“We’ve previously made a media and social media appeal to trace this wanted person but without success and so we decided to do something a little different,” head of Cleveland Police corporate communications, Will Green, explains in a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle. “We don’t take such appeals in any way lightly and follow the relevant national policing guidance, but that doesn’t mean we can’t seek to make appeals as engaging as possible which is what we did here.”

In the tweet, Cleveland Police also gave a nod to another police department, the Durham Constabulary, which participated in the challenge last week, using the photo of another wanted suspect, Paul Bishop. Durham’s post went viral, which inspired Cleveland Police to follow suit.

But they were not expecting the worldwide response they have received.

“The response has been exceptional,” Green says. “[Our] target audience is local but the international publicity we’ve received all feeds back to a local level and supports our efforts to apprehend this man.”

As both departments continue with their search for the suspects, Durham also decided to have a little more fun with the challenge, using pictures of their four-legged officers and challenging the Cleveland Police and the New York Police Department (NYPD) to join in, as well.

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