Toronto, Nov. 7 -- Considered the epicentre of the extortion crisis in Canada, the town of Surrey in British Columbia has not recorded a single shooting in connection with the crime over the past three months. The outlet Vancouver Sun reported that there were no extortion-related shootings in Surrey between August and October this year. "At least the most overt and dangerous component, the shootings, seem to have been quelled, but that is not an indication to us that the work is done," a spokesperson for Surrey Police Service (SPS) told the outlet. According to SPS data for this year, updated till October 17, there were 147 reported extortions, 21 related shots fired, four arsons and 78 victims. Extortion peaked in January this year when 44 such attempts were reported and there were ten incidents involving shooting. In 2025, there were 133 reported extortions, 49 incidents of shots fired, and 88 victims. The last shooting occurred in July when a single such instance was recorded. In 2024, there were only nine reported extortions and shots were fired twice. SPS described extortion as an incident "when an individual receives a demand for money with a threat of violence or intimidation". Since extortion attempts surged in the summer of 2025, SPS instituted multiple measures including Project Assurance wherein its team was "providing daily patrols in and around extortion target locations to protect victims and disrupt criminal activity"....