Police continue to dedicate significant resources to investigating the ongoing wave of extortion threats targeting local business owners, yet progress remains slow.
Authorities have repeatedly urged victims or anyone with helpful information to come forward, but many are reluctant to do so fearing for their personal safety, as well as that of their employees and families. Most victims have been South Asian business owners.
If you’re not sure about what you know, call Crime Stoppers ANONYMOUSLY and let our trained professionals go though the information. If you see anything that looks suspicious, don’t brush it off – call it in. You may be doing a lot of good.
Even if English is not your first language, Crime Stoppers provides operators available 24 hours a day in 115 languages, including Punjabi and Hindi. Your anonymity is fully protected by the Supreme Court of Canada, and you will never be asked to reveal your identity or testify in court.
“The problem doesn’t show any real sign of going away,” says Linda Annis, Executive Director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers. “No matter how small the detail, we need to be sure that people are reporting anything they know to the police, or ANONYMOUSLY to Crime Stoppers.”
Crime Stoppers has even taken the unusual step of accepting tips from extortion victims. “Normally, we don’t accept tips from crime victims who should really call 9-1-1 or the police,” Annis adds. “We decided to accept information from targets of extortion threats knowing their information may be of value to police.”
Annis adds anyone getting a call from an unusual number should let it go to voicemail to make sure it’s authentic, and not an extortion attempt. “Once you start to engage with them, they don’t let up. If you do connect, don’t pay and immediately call police directly or Crime Stoppers.”
Anyone with information about crime can simply call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Tips are also accepted through Crime Stoppers’ downloadable “P3” smartphone app, or online at solvecrime.ca.
