Global Pulse

分类： society

  • Island residents fear delays to emergencies amid changes to fire service

    Island residents fear delays to emergencies amid changes to fire service

    Off Ireland’s northwest coast, the remote inhabited island of Arranmore is facing a growing conflict over emergency services, as locals push back against Donegal County Council’s plan to phase out the island’s last retained paid firefighters and transition to an all-volunteer fire brigade once the current personnel retire.

    For decades, Arranmore’s fire service has operated under a hybrid model: two full-time paid retained firefighters backed by a team of local volunteers. But that structure is set to change, with the council moving to an entirely volunteer-led service to fill upcoming vacancies created by retirement. For island residents, the shift raises urgent questions about the reliability of emergency response during a high-risk season for wildfires.

    Longtime local firefighter Finbar Gallagher, one of the most vocal critics of the plan, explained that the island’s unique geography and seasonal population swings make an all-volunteer force unworkable. Arranmore is particularly prone to fast-spreading gorse fires during the warm summer months, when the island’s permanent population of roughly 500 swells to as many as 900 people as tourists descend on its Atlantic coastlines. Gallagher noted that many current volunteers already split their time across multiple critical emergency services, serving on both the RNLI lifeboat crew and local ambulance service in addition to fire brigade duties.

    “The days of relying solely on volunteers for an essential service like fire response are gone,” Gallagher told BBC Radio Foyle. “Every community on the mainland has access to retained paid firefighters, and there’s no logical reason why Arranmore should be different. The additional cost to the council is negligible, especially when weighed against the risk to human life.”

    Residents have already launched a formal petition demanding the council reverse its decision and commit to hiring six full-time retained firefighters for the island. Siobhan Cox, a member of the community committee organizing the petition, said locals are united in their deep concern over the proposed changes. She pointed to a recent gorse fire that was extinguished in just 10 minutes by the existing on-island crew – a response time that would be impossible if the island had to wait for reinforcements from the mainland.

    Cox explained that rough Atlantic seas regularly suspend ferry services to Arranmore, meaning mainland fire crews could face delays of up to an hour or be unable to reach the island at all during an emergency. That window, she said, is more than enough for a small gorse fire to spread to residential areas and cause catastrophic damage. Beyond emergency response, Cox added that creating new paid positions would also support long-term efforts to attract young people to move to the island, boosting its declining permanent population. She also noted that the Aran Islands, another inhabited Irish island group, currently receive funding for 12 retained firefighter positions, making the council’s refusal to approve six posts for Arranmore even more confusing.

    For its part, Donegal County Council has defended its plan, arguing that current volunteer recruitment efforts meet and exceed the requirements laid out in national government policy for fire services on inhabited offshore islands. The council noted that five new local residents have already expressed interest in joining the volunteer brigade to fill the gaps left by upcoming and recent retirements. It added that the island’s fire equipment has essentially the same functional capability as that used by mainland retained brigades, with only minor differences in water capacity and ladder size.

    But community leaders remain unconvinced, accusing the council of ignoring their concerns and attempting to sweep the issue under the rug. As the peak summer wildfire season gets underway, the fight over Arranmore’s fire service highlights the ongoing challenges facing remote island communities in Ireland, as local authorities balance budget constraints with the need for reliable, accessible emergency services for year-round and seasonal residents alike.

  • Solitude as a new aspirational lifestyle: ‘We are not lonely’

    Solitude as a new aspirational lifestyle: ‘We are not lonely’

    Against the backdrop of social media’s culture of overcrowded, highlight-reel lifestyles and constant pressure to be socially connected, a small but rapidly growing niche of content creators – most of them women – is pushing back against outdated stigma by sharing the quiet, intentional peace of solo living. What began as personal documentation of unvarnished daily life has sparked a widespread conversation around the difference between chosen solitude and harmful loneliness, while building an unexpected online community for people who have long felt unseen by mainstream lifestyle content.

    One of the most prominent voices in this space is Lana Isa, a 20-something Toronto-based software sales manager, whose viral TikTok of a quiet Friday night routine has racked up more than seven million views. The video opens on a relatable scene: after a long work week, Isa trundles home, puts a frozen pizza in the oven, lights a candle to watch the snow fall outside her window, and settles onto her couch alone to eat. The video’s provocative tagline – ‘POV you’re a childfree and single girl that has no friends and lives alone so this is how you spend your Friday night’ – quickly captured audience attention, turning Isa into a core figure in the solitude content movement. Today, she counts nearly 400,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, where she shares everything from late-night fast food runs and lakeside reading sessions to the chaotic misadventure of getting locked out of her apartment in the middle of the night.

    For Isa, the decision to share her friendless status was not a gimmick or an attempt to romanticize isolation – it was simply a reflection of years of lived reality. A string of high school transfers, COVID-19 isolation during college, and a cross-country move after a devastating first heartbreak left her building a life from scratch with no close social circle. ‘People don’t talk about having no friends a lot… I think it’s still what people would consider embarrassing or a little taboo,’ she explained. When she began sharing her truth online, she never expected the response: her initial 2,000 follower count on TikTok ballooned to more than 175,000 in just eight months, as thousands of people reached out to say they saw their own lives reflected in her content. ‘It was eye-opening to see other people who are living the same situation that I’ve been… and to feel like I could kind of relate to people for the first time in a while,’ Isa said. Her comment sections are now filled with followers bonding over shared experiences of solo living, finding comfort in finally feeling seen.

    But the movement has not been without its critics. As the trend gained traction, it sparked backlash, with commentators dubbing Isa and her fellow creators ‘loneliness influencers,’ framing them as part of a crisis of sad, isolated childless women. Other critics have accused them of romanticizing self-isolation and promoting a ‘cosy defeatism’ that pushes people away from needed social connection.

    The creators push back hard against that narrative, arguing that their content does the opposite: it challenges the harmful stigma that equates being alone with being lonely. Devon Noehring, a full-time content creator and self-identified introvert based in Phoenix, Arizona, says it is frustrating to see her quiet solo weekends cooking and relaxing at home with her dog framed as a sign of female loneliness. ‘It’s the exact opposite intention of our videos,’ she said. ‘I just hate the stigma of alone equalling lonely.’ Though Noehring has a small circle of close friends, she grew up struggling with social anxiety and feeling ashamed of her preference for solitude. When she opened up about her insecurities online, she found a large community of fellow introverts who connected with her story. ‘Being alone is where I feel my most free and most like myself,’ she explained. ‘That’s how I recharge, and I feel very proud of myself for being independent and doing things alone… I think it’s something that should be celebrated.’

    For UK-based cleaner SJ Hoadley, who calls herself an ‘accidental influencer’ after gaining a massive following inspired by Isa’s work, solo living was born out of unexpected upheaval, but it has become a source of strength. After leaving a seven-year abusive relationship, she moved to a new area where she knew no one and had to rebuild her life entirely. While the transition was shocking at first, she quickly learned to embrace her newfound independence. ‘I think sometimes my lack of friends tends to bother the people around me more than it bothers me,’ she said. ‘We never describe ourselves as lonely.’

    Health researchers have weighed in on the conversation, working to destigmatize solitude by drawing a clear line between chronic, forced loneliness and intentional alone time. Professor Melody Ding, an epidemiologist at the University of Sydney who studies social connection and loneliness, notes that societal pressure creates a false expectation that people must be socially connected and happy 24/7. ‘Everybody’s lonely at some point, but some people are not OK admitting that,’ she said. That said, Ding cautions that while chosen solitude can be positive, humans are inherently social species, and prolonged, unchosen intense isolation can have negative impacts on both mental and physical health. ‘We survive better with companionship, with people around us,’ she explained, adding that her hope for people who have lost social connections is that they will eventually be able to build new, nourishing relationships over time.

    Digital media experts say the rise of solitude content fills a critical gap in a social media landscape dominated by hyper-glamourized, aspirational content that fuels constant fear of missing out. Dr Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, a University of Connecticut researcher who studies online community building, notes that there has been a growing backlash against the ‘highlight reel’ culture of mainstream influencer content, and audiences are hungry for more authentic, relatable stories. ‘There’s been this kind of long growing backlash against the idea that we’re seeing everybody’s perfect life, their highlight reel,’ she said. The appeal of solitude content, she explains, is that it provides much-needed balance to influencer culture, connecting creators and audiences around shared, authentic experiences. ‘We’re kind of trending towards these influencers that are more authentic, living their true life,’ Oeldorf-Hirsch said. ‘We just want to find people we relate to.’

    Far from rejecting all social connection, the creators say their content has actually opened new doors for meaningful social interaction. Hoadley’s following has grown by tens of thousands of followers on some days, while Noehring’s videos have amassed millions of views across platforms. All three creators say their online communities have inspired them to pursue new in-person connections: Hoadley is excited about the prospect of finding a small group of girlfriends, Noehring hopes to organize an in-person meetup for her online community, and Isa says the support she has received has given her the push she needed to start considering making new friends again.

    At its core, the movement is about rejecting one-size-fits-all expectations for a happy life, Hoadley says. ‘I think that what all the content is saying is: find your path,’ she explained. ‘It doesn’t have to be this one-size-fits-all that we keep getting pushed on social media.’

  • Woman and two men arrested in relation to Brisbane break-and-enter

    Woman and two men arrested in relation to Brisbane break-and-enter

    Newly released dramatic body-worn and surveillance footage has captured the rapid, coordinated response by Queensland Police that led to the arrest of three people connected to an alleged early-morning armed home invasion in Brisbane’s southwestern suburb of Kenmore. The incident unfolded at approximately 3:43 a.m. on Friday, when five people authorities say were carrying a replica firearm and multiple baseball bats forced entry into a residential property on Skye Street.

    Shortly after the group fled the scene, local police units swarmed the surrounding area following emergency calls from residents and witnesses, launching a targeted manhunt that resulted in three people taken into custody within hours of the break-in. Among those arrested are a 26-year-old man from Windaroo, a 21-year-old woman from Deagon, and an 18-year-old man from Cannon Hill. Investigators also confirmed that a replica firearm, visible in the official evidence footage released by the Queensland Police Service (QPS), was recovered at the arrest site.

    Court documents show the 26-year-old defendant faces a total of 18 criminal charges, including one count of breaking and entering into a dwelling, nine counts of possessing restricted prescription and controlled substances, six counts of possession of dangerous drugs, one count of possession of a drug-related utensil, and one count of receiving stolen tainted property. He made his first court appearance before a Brisbane magistrate on Saturday.

    Both the 21-year-old woman and the 18-year-old man each face one count of breaking and entering in connection to the Kenmore home invasion. The teenager is scheduled to appear before the Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 24, while the woman’s first court hearing is set for August 28. Two other suspects who participated in the alleged invasion remain at large as the investigation continues.

    Queensland Police have issued a public appeal for any additional witnesses who were in the Skye Street area of Kenmore during the early hours of Friday, or any local residents who may have private security or dashcam footage capturing the incident or the suspects’ vehicle, to come forward to assist investigators. Any information, no matter how minor, is expected to help police progress the case and locate the remaining two individuals involved.

    The footage of the arrests and evidence recovery, provided to media via NewsWire as an official handout from QPS, has been released to the public to raise awareness of the incident and encourage witnesses to step forward.

  • Retail worker critical after he was allegedly attacked by teens in Melbourne’s west

    Retail worker critical after he was allegedly attacked by teens in Melbourne’s west

    A shocking violent assault in suburban Melbourne has left a 60-year-old retail employee fighting for his life, sending ripple effects through debates over frontline worker safety just days after Victoria’s new state government pledged urgent action to protect retail staff. The incident unfolded just after 2 p.m. this past Saturday on Hampshire Road in the suburb of Sunshine, when two store workers approached four teenagers whom they suspected of shoplifting from the retail outlet. What began as an intervention quickly escalated into a physical confrontation outside the store, with the 60-year-old staff member bearing the brunt of the violence. He sustained severe, life-threatening injuries in the altercation and was rushed immediately to Royal Melbourne Hospital, where medical teams have kept him in critical condition.

    Hospital spokespeople confirmed Monday that the worker’s condition remains unchanged and critical, as the community waits for updates on his recovery. Local law enforcement has since taken all four teenagers suspected in the attack into custody. The group — two boys aged 13 and 15, a 14-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old girl — come from the Brimbank and Banyule areas of Melbourne. As of the latest update, detectives have not yet conducted formal interviews with the detained teens, and investigations into the full circumstances of the attack are ongoing.

    The assault comes at a particularly charged moment for retail safety policy in Victoria, coming just days after new Premier Ben Carter took office and used his debut press conference to prioritize new protections for frontline retail and service workers. Carroll, who began his own working career as a frontline staff member at discount retailer Kmart, announced the rollout of a new policy tool called Workplace Protection Orders (WPOs), modeled after the existing Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) already used to protect people from repeat abuse. WPOs will grant authorities the power to restrict or completely bar access to workplaces for people who have a history of violent or abusive behavior toward frontline retail and service staff, addressing growing calls for stronger action after a string of high-profile attacks on Australian retail workers in recent months.

  • Crowds line Amsterdam’s canals for Pride boat parade

    Crowds line Amsterdam’s canals for Pride boat parade

    Tens of thousands of spectators lined the historic canal banks of Amsterdam this weekend to celebrate one of Europe’s most iconic LGBTQ+ events, the annual Pride boat parade. A vibrant flotilla made up of 80 elaborately decorated vessels slowly cruised along the city’s famous waterways, with costumed participants dancing to upbeat music and waving enthusiastically to cheering onlookers packed along the shores. Rainbow flags and multicolored decorations stretched across every boat, turning the centuries-old canal network into a flowing river of celebration for queer identity and equal rights. Many attendees traveled from across the Netherlands and neighboring countries to join the event, which has grown from a small activist gathering into one of the city’s largest public celebrations of diversity and inclusion. Local authorities reported that crowds were peaceful and celebratory throughout the afternoon procession, with many attendees describing the event as a vital reminder of the progress made in LGBTQ+ rights and the work that still remains to achieve full equality globally.

  • Mountaineer Nirmal Purja killed in Pakistan avalanche, his company says

    Mountaineer Nirmal Purja killed in Pakistan avalanche, his company says

    A devastating avalanche on Pakistan’s remote Broad Peak has claimed the lives of 10 climbers, including world-famous Nepali-born mountaineer Nirmal Purja, whose groundbreaking high-altitude achievements were catapulted to global attention by a hit 2021 Netflix documentary. The tragedy was officially confirmed by Purja’s mountaineering guiding company, Elite Expeditions, which announced the heartbreaking news in a social media post Thursday, expressing profound grief over the loss of the entire expedition team.

    Purja, 43, a former British Special Boat Service soldier who redefined high-altitude mountaineering limits in 2019 by climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter-plus peaks in just six months and six days — a record that stood as a testament to human endurance — was leading the multinational expedition when the avalanche struck the 8,047-meter (26,400-foot) Karakoram range peak, one of the most challenging and dangerous summits on Earth.

    Prior to the official confirmation of Purja’s death, Pakistani rescue authorities had already recovered the bodies of three members of the 10-person team: American climber Mallory Geis, Omani climber Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy, and Nepali climber Pur Bahadur Gurung. Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah later issued an official statement confirming the total fatality count, which includes six Nepali climbers and four foreign nationals, and expressed the nation’s shock over the accident. “The tragic death of six Nepalese and four other foreign climbers, including world record holder Nirmal Purja, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan, has shocked us,” Shah wrote on social media, adding that “the history of their courage, dedication, and contributions will always remain inspiring.”

    Pakistani rescue teams had launched an urgent search and recovery operation immediately after the avalanche was reported, navigating harsh, high-altitude conditions to reach the disaster site on the world’s 12th highest mountain. Broad Peak has long held a reputation as one of mountaineering’s most dangerous tests: while the first successful ascent was completed by an Austrian expedition in 1957, dozens of climbers have lost their lives on its slopes in the decades since. One of its deadliest seasons on record was 2013, when at least six climbers died in separate incidents on the peak.

    Purja, who joined the British Army in 2003 before moving to the elite Royal Navy Special Boat Service in 2009, became a household name globally after Netflix released *14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible*, the 2021 documentary that chronicled his history-making 2019 expedition to scale all 14 of the world’s highest peaks. The documentary introduced his extraordinary story of endurance to millions, cementing his legacy as one of the most iconic mountaineers of the 21st century.

    This is an ongoing breaking news story, and updates with additional details are expected to be released as more information becomes available from rescue officials and expedition authorities.

  • Hundreds of thousands line Amsterdam canals for the annual Pride boat parade

    Hundreds of thousands line Amsterdam canals for the annual Pride boat parade

    On a recent Saturday in the Dutch capital, hundreds of thousands of spectators packed the banks of Amsterdam’s iconic canals to cheer on the city’s legendary annual Pride canal boat parade, the centerpiece of this year’s combined World Pride celebration. The high-spirited event unfolded just seven days after a deadly extremist attack targeting a Pride gathering in Berlin left one attendee dead and 29 others wounded, prompting stepped-up security measures across major European Pride events this year.

    Among the 80 vibrantly decorated vessels taking part in the floating procession, one boat carried openly gay Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Rob Jetten. Clad in a crisp white button-down, a black life vest and a gold statement necklace, Jetten waved steadily to cheering crowds lining the waterway as pulsing techno music echoed from speakers along the parade route, joining participants in marking the global LGBTQ+ rights celebration.

    The Berlin attack, which authorities have classified as an Islamic extremist act, unfolded when 30-year-old suspect Abdul Ballout allegedly drove a van into a crowd gathered near the city’s Pride event last Saturday, before attacking additional people with a machete. The following day, Ballout was shot and killed by police during an arrest confrontation in a Berlin suburb. German prosecutors later confirmed the suspect had a documented history of attempting to travel to join the militant Islamic State group.

    In response to the attack, Amsterdam officials moved quickly to implement enhanced security protocols for the city’s World Pride events, while aiming to minimize disruption to attendees. As the parade kicked off, uniformed officers patrolled the canals aboard marked motorboats, and a police helicopter maintained a constant overhead patrol. The caution extended across Germany as well: the same day as Amsterdam’s parade, Hamburg held one of Germany’s largest annual Pride processions with doubled police staffing compared to 2023, with organizers projecting a turnout of roughly 250,000 attendees.

    For many visitors and participants, the decision to attend the Amsterdam event in the wake of violence was an intentional act of solidarity. Rod Lugtenburg, a 55-year-old tourist from Toronto who traveled specifically for World Pride, stood on Amsterdam’s historic Skinny Bridge wearing a rainbow-adorned maple leaf T-shirt as the boats passed. “For me, it’s about acceptance, being able to be who you are,” he said. “I have Dutch heritage and I have always loved the fact that the Dutch have been leading the way” in advancing acceptance and legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community, he added, noting “And Canada is right behind them, so I’m very proud.”

    Despite the Netherlands’ long-held global reputation as a leading haven of tolerance for LGBTQ+ people, the joyful celebration unfolded against a troubling backdrop: a steady rise in reported verbal and physical attacks targeting community members across the country. Just one day before the parade, an Amsterdam court convicted a man of using hate speech at a local preliminary Pride event earlier that week, sentencing him to 40 hours of community service.

    Participants in the parade spanned public and private groups, including official vessels from Dutch government ministries, national military and law enforcement agencies, alongside dozens of LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations and social clubs. The nation’s oldest LGBTQ+ rights group, COC Netherlands, marked its 80th anniversary of activism with a parade boat that carried a policy manifesto calling for continued progress on LGBTQ+ human rights across the country. The boat also featured a large portrait of Marsha P. Johnson, the iconic trans activist who played a central role in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City — the rebellion that ignited the modern global movement for queer equality.

    This report included contributions from Associated Press correspondent Geir Moulson in Berlin.

  • Teen allegedly showered driver with pepper spray during attempted robbery

    Teen allegedly showered driver with pepper spray during attempted robbery

    A violent attempted car theft targeting a rideshare driver in suburban Perth has left one 15-year-old boy facing multiple serious criminal charges, with Western Australia Police still hunting for a second suspect involved in the Thursday afternoon attack.

    According to official statements from WA Police, the incident unfolded when the driver picked up two young male passengers from the suburb of Balga, located in Perth’s northern corridor. As the trip progressed, the pair began threatening the driver, with the 15-year-old suspect brandishing oleoresin capsicum (OC) pepper spray during the confrontation.

    The driver managed to escape the vehicle when the group stopped at a service station in the nearby suburb of Greenwood. But law enforcement alleges the teen suspect did not stop there: he followed the fleeing driver out of the car and deployed the pepper spray directly against him, leaving the driver physically affected by the chemical irritant.

    After the attack, both suspects fled the scene on foot. However, police tactical and patrol units quickly established a search perimeter, and the 15-year-old was taken into custody only a short distance away in Balga, within hours of the incident.

    The teen has been formally charged with four criminal offenses: aggravated armed robbery, attempted theft of a motor vehicle, criminal threats to commit an unlawful act, and administering a harmful poison. He was scheduled to make his first court appearance at the Perth Children’s Court on Saturday.

    Investigations remain active, as police have not yet located the second male suspect connected to the attack. WA Police have issued a public appeal for any community members who may have witnessed the incident, or who hold private dashcam, CCTV or phone footage from the Balga and Greenwood areas on Thursday afternoon, to contact Crime Stoppers immediately with any information that could help advance the case.

  • Search resumes for missing climbers from Pakistan avalanche

    Search resumes for missing climbers from Pakistan avalanche

    In the harsh, glaciated terrain of northern Pakistan’s Karakoram Range, rescue operations have restarted for seven climbers missing following a devastating avalanche that hit an international expedition on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest 8,000-metre mountains. As of Saturday, three bodies have been recovered from the avalanche site, with more suspected visible in aerial drone footage. The disaster unfolded on Thursday, when the 10-member expedition, led by acclaimed British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, was ascending to the summit of the 8,047-metre peak at roughly 6,600 metres above sea level. Contact with the full team was lost immediately after the avalanche struck, and Purja is among the seven still unaccounted for. The three remains recovered so far, airlifted by military helicopter for formal identification, include an American woman, an Omani woman, and a Nepali man, per a statement released late Friday by the regional Government of Gilgit-Baltistan. Severe, unpredictable high-altitude weather forced rescue teams to suspend search efforts on Friday, but operations resumed Saturday for a second consecutive day of searching. High-altitude porters, local specialized rescuers, and Pakistani army personnel are leading the operation, supported by military helicopters that have been scouring the avalanche-prone slope. Rescue teams stayed overnight at Broad Peak’s base camp to maintain progress on the mission, and officials confirmed that drone imagery has already detected additional suspected bodies on the mountainside. “The rescue operation is being conducted under extremely challenging terrain and high-altitude weather conditions by the Pakistani army in coordination with local high-altitude climbers and rescuers,” the regional government statement noted. According to data from the climbers’ personal tracking devices, the force of the avalanche swept the missing climbers hundreds of metres down the slope, explained Naila Kiani of Pakistan’s Alpine Club in an interview with French outlet Le Monde. The expedition included 10 members from five countries: Purja himself, five Nepali climbers, one Pakistani, one Omani, one American, and one climber from China. The team made their last confirmed contact with outside parties on Thursday morning, and news of the avalanche began to circulate later that same day. For 43-year-old Purja, the expedition was part of a historic climbing quest: he had announced publicly on social media platform X earlier this week that he was on the cusp of becoming the first person to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre “super peaks” twice without using supplemental oxygen. “Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” he wrote in his final post before the avalanche. Before becoming a full-time professional mountaineer and expedition guide, Purja served 10 years in the British military, including service with the Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service. Since turning to professional climbing, he has broken dozens of mountaineering records, most famously his 2019 expedition that saw him summit all 14 8,000-metre peaks in just six months and six days – a feat that set a new world record at the time. Broad Peak, first successfully summited by an Austrian expedition in 1957, ranks as the 12th highest mountain on Earth. It is widely regarded by the climbing community as one of the most technically challenging and dangerous of all 8,000-metre ascents, prone to sudden avalanches and unpredictable severe weather.

  • Police in the US are making their own true crime podcasts – will it help catch killers?

    Police in the US are making their own true crime podcasts – will it help catch killers?

    Across the United States, law enforcement agencies are tapping into the global obsession with true crime by launching their own podcasts, turning the wildly popular genre into an unexpected investigative tool to crack long-unsolved cold cases and track down fugitive suspects. This emerging trend has already notched tangible results, even as it brings new challenges and ethical questions for police departments navigating a new form of public engagement.