False police reports take up police time, money and other resources that could go to solving real crime and protecting real victims.
False police reports take time and resources away from real cases. Someone who files a false police report may be arrested and charged for doing so. In some cases, the person who filed the report felt justified because the report was necessary to get a restraining order for personal safety, but the act of knowingly filing a false police report is a crime. Stopping false police reports in general requires adjustments to the police report process, such as increasing the evidence necessary for filing the report. Stopping a false police report from being filed against you requires quick action and careful documentation.
Instructions
General False Police Reports
1. Organize a group of people within the community to go around with a petition. The petition should briefly present the concepts to reduce or eliminate false police reports such as establishing a standard for the minimum evidence required before any police reports may be filed.
2. Circulate the petition throughout the community in an effort to collect a minimum number of signatures. Signatures should be from registered voters at least 18 years of age living within the community. Each signature should include some form of contact information to ensure no one is simply signing names. The minimum signature requirement will depend on the regional laws but generally a thousand or more signatures will at least be a good start to changing report laws.
3. Present the petition and signatures at the next town hall meeting or to the local city or state legislature. The petition and signatures should be accompanied by a formal letter explaining the reasoning behind the request for law changes, the proposed changes and contact information for those who organized the petition.
Specific False Police Reports
4. Contact the police department the moment you believe a false report will be filed against you. Common false police reports occur against landlords or tenants, in divorce or child custody cases, or domestic violence or sexual assault claims.
5. Explain to the police that you believe a false police report will be filed against you and you wish to help prevent a waste of time and resources. The police will need detailed information about you, whomever you believe will file the report, what really happened and why you believe the person will file a false report. Simply saying "It's an ex-girlfriend jealous that I've moved on" or "My ex doesn't like my new boyfriend so he's going to cause trouble" usually isn't enough, so be prepared to offer whatever evidence you can such as phone records, e-mails or text messages and any other evidence that may support your claim that the report is false.
6. Document all communication and interaction with people who are likely to cause trouble with false police reports. Keep a calendar with dates. times and locations of any physical interactions as well as times of any communication via phone, Internet or otherwise. When something is communicated that could be threatening, save it if possible but otherwise document it, being as detailed as possible. If the wording is exact, the filer of the report will feel "caught red-handed" when questioned by police; if the wording is altered or taken out of context, the filer of the report will feel like you are being just as conniving.
7. Stay in contact with police to help prevent future attempts of false police reports against you. Consulting with a lawyer may also help prevent false police reports as well as protect a professional reputation. If the goal of the reports is to discredit or publicly shame you, the lawyer may work at damage control or countering damage with legal action.
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