A police report is something the police write up after someone tells them about a crime. These reports usually have the names of the person who got hurt and the person who did it, what happened, and the names of people who saw it happen and other helpful information. These reports matter more than most people know. The whole point of a police report is to have everything written down about what happened so people can look back at it later. That’s also true if it goes to court.
People call the police all of the time to report crimes. When they do, they’re giving the police information that helps with whatever investigation they’re working on. The problem is, if someone lies to the police on purpose, when they’re making a report they could be looking at charges for filing a false police report and other crimes that go along with that. When people make false reports, they’re taking resources away from real emergencies where people actually need help faster. Every time someone files a report, the police have to look into it, which means they have to send officers who could be helping with real crimes that are happening at that second. If you lie on a report, you could be the reason someone else who’s actually in danger has to wait longer for help.
The person who files a false report can get charged if they straight-up lie or if they leave out facts that matter on purpose that the police need for their investigation. The law treats these the same way. If you file a false report to try to trick the police, they might charge you with obstruction of justice, since you’re wasting the police department’s time and money and everything else they need for doing their jobs. When someone gets charged with this, the prosecution has the burden of proof to show that the person who made the false report actually broke the law they’re being charged with.
Once you get charged with obstruction, it follows you around for years after your case is over. When you apply for jobs, employers won’t hire people who have these kinds of convictions because they see them as people who can’t be trusted. The courts see it as someone trying to get in the way of the whole justice system and they take that very seriously.
What actually matters is, if you meant to give false information or not, that’s what makes the difference between a false police report and just making an honest mistake. If you just get something wrong by accident when you’re giving information, that’s not the same as filing a false police report. What you were thinking when you filed the report is what decides if you’ll get charged or not. The prosecutors have to show that you were trying to lie on purpose, not that you were just confused or couldn’t remember something right. If you make an honest mistake, the law protects you in ways it won’t if you lie on purpose.
How Do You Prove that the Police Report was False?
The prosecution will need to prove that the person who filed the false police report broke the law in the exact ways that make up this crime. These exact parts change from state to state and depend on the laws where you live. That’s why these differences change how your case gets handled.
In most cases, you can expect to be convicted if the prosecution can show that you knew you were lying when you made a false police report after the police asked you about a real crime. The prosecution will also try to show that, when you made the false report, you were trying to trick the police or get in the way of their investigation.
When prosecutors can show that someone deliberately tried to trick the police, they usually have a strong case. The courts will look at whether you were trying to mislead the officers on the job. What you said during your first conversation with the police will probably be the main evidence in your case.
Let’s say the police come out because someone calls and says their spouse hit them but the spouse never actually did that. The person who lied could be charged with making a false report to the police, and the prosecution could show intent to deceive based on the supposed abuse they reported.
Your state of mind at the time is what matters the most in these cases. Prosecutors will look at what was going through your mind when you talked to the officers. What you said and your behavior during the interaction will show if you were trying to trick them.
The person who filed the false report might not have meant to give wrong information. Maybe they couldn’t remember correctly when they talked to the police, or maybe someone else gave them the wrong information in the first place. If you made an honest mistake, that’s usually your best defense against these charges. To be found guilty of filing a false police report, the defendant has to have known that the report was false or should have known it was false.
Is It a Felony to File a False Police Report?
Federal and state laws control what happens when someone files a false police report. Laws can vary quite a bit depending on where you are. Your local prosecutor will choose if they’ll charge you with a misdemeanor or a felony. Either way, your punishment will probably depend on how much damage the false report did to a criminal investigation or to people’s lives.
You could be paying fines, going to jail, or serving probation. If they charge you with a misdemeanor, you might have to pay fines and spend up to one year in jail. If they charge you with a felony under state or local law, you could go to jail for more than one year. At the federal level, they could also charge you with filing a false report of terrorism.
This applies if you make a threat yourself or falsely report someone else’s threat. The worst punishments usually go to people who make false claims about terrorism. Anyone convicted of these charges can get sent to a federal prison for up to twenty years.
Federal terrorism charges bring problems that go much further than normal criminal penalties. Courts treat these cases very seriously because false terrorism reports pull resources away from real threats. Making a material lie such as filing a false report of a bomb threat resulting in the shut down of a location and the use of public resources to search the location would likely result in a felony charge. While twenty years is the maximum sentence, most people who get charged will spend years dealing with court cases before they can even reach that stage.
If someone files a false report to get another person in trouble or to make the police investigate an innocent person, then the person who was falsely accused can file a civil lawsuit. They’d usually be trying to get compensation for the harm they suffered. When people file civil lawsuits in these situations they usually ask for money to make up for their damaged reputation and lost opportunities. Victims can ask for attorney fees, lost wages, and money for emotional distress. Some courts will award extra punitive damages when the false report was especially malicious.
When you get convicted of a felony, your constitutional rights will be affected. You could be losing your right to vote, drive a car, hold a work license, and own a firearm. These restrictions can last for years after your conviction.
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What Happens If You Lie on a Police Report?
As mentioned earlier, if you lie on a police report, you could get charged with obstruction of justice or with filing a false police report. Both of these charges come with real consequences. The consequences you’ll see from lying on a police report depend on what actually happened and what lie you told. If you tell smaller lies, you might just get a misdemeanor charge.
But if you tell a big lie that causes real harm, the situation can escalate very fast when you waste police time and taxpayer money.
If you get convicted of a felony, it changes your life forever. You lose your right to vote, you can’t own guns anymore, and plenty of decent jobs won’t hire you. Background checks will show that conviction for decades and this will hurt your shot at finding jobs, trying to rent apartments, or wanting to get professional licenses.
On top of the criminal fines and prison time, you might also have to pay civil penalties for filing that false report. That’s also the case if your report was about another person or company and it hurt them. The financial burden keeps growing past what you already owe from the criminal case. These civil penalties might mean you have to pay back the other person’s lawyer fees from when they had to defend themselves, plus money for any wages they lost, their emotional distress, and other damages.
Civil cases can drain your finances for years after your criminal case is over. Just the lawyer fees alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars and the damage awards depend on how much harm you caused the other person. These costs pile up on their own, separate from whatever criminal fines or restitution the judge already ordered you to pay.
Do I Need a Lawyer for an Issue with a False Police Report?
A criminal defense lawyer can look at your situation and find what defenses you have available. They’ll also stand up for you in court when you need them. The difference between making an honest mistake and lying on purpose matters in these cases. Your lawyer can also help you if anyone sues you for damages because of the false report. LegalMatch can help you find the right criminal attorney for your case.
If you filed a police report in good faith, but later found out that some of the information you gave was wrong, then you need to tell the police as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the worse it can get. If the police have already charged you with filing a false report, then you need to get in touch with a criminal defense lawyer immediately.
Your reputation at work will take a hit immediately and any time a future employer runs a background check they’ll see these charges. The people who were affected by your false report will probably sue you too. Between the legal fees and other costs, your family could have real financial issues and people in your community might look at you differently for years to come.
Police departments take these cases very personally because they see them as attacks on their authority and reputation. Prosecutors go after these cases harder than most others and they may try to get the maximum punishment even if you made an honest mistake or had understandable reasons. When police waste time and money chasing false leads, it makes them angry and puts pressure on the whole system to come down hard on anyone who files a false report.
