Senior officers are warning Jamaicans against knowingly filing false missing persons reports, saying such actions divert valuable resources from genuine cases and could result in criminal charges.

“The real truth is that the police officers are here to treat with reports. We prefer to have genuine reports, other than to waste time investigating something which is imaginary,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Michael Phipps told THE STAR.

“You will see the importance of us using our time to investigate something that has happened, other than to be investigating something which never happened.”