Extortion Cases Drop, TTPS Urge Online Caution
There has been a reduction in extortion cases in the country.
This was revealed by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Richard Smith, as he urged members of the public to be more vigilant with the information they share.
« In 2026 we have 18 reports, which is a 55% reduction in this category of crime. We also have a 67% detection rate in 2026 because 12 of the 18 reports have been detected by these officers, as compared to a 55% detection rate in 2025, where 22 out of these 40 crimes were detected. When we look at our further analysis, we saw that the major contributor to these types of crimes is the North Central Division, which contributes 9 reports thus far for this year, as compared to 8 reports last year. »
He emphasised that exercising caution when sharing online information could prevent instances of extortion from happening.
« We have to be careful about our activities and about the secrets that we have others holding for us. We must be careful as it relates to that. Again, I want to reiterate, we must be careful of what we are sharing with members of the public. We must be careful about that because we need to know that we must not share all this amount of information on social media. We need to understand that we must not put up our children’s pictures, our vehicle numbers, or our phone numbers. »
