It is an offence in Victoria to lie to the police, with punishments of up to a year in prison or a fine of 120 penalty units (what are penalty units?). That’s a big fine. You may also be required to pay for expenses that the government has had to cover as a result of your lies.

You may be jailed, or have any number of different penalties applied to your case, depending on the decision of the judge.

The law states that if you falsely, and knowingly falsely, report or cause to be reported to police that something has happened that requires an investigation by law enforcement, you are guilty of an offence.

     So what does making a false report mean in real life?

If you tell police that a crime has been committed, when it hasn’t, or give information to another person that they then take to the police and report as a crime (that didn’t happen), then the police investigate – this is a waste of police resources, and may result in what is fondly known as a wild goose chase.

     To be found guilty, the police must prove that…

It must be proved beyond reasonable doubt that you reported, or caused to be reported, to the police something that requires investigation, which was false, which you did voluntarily and knowingly.

     Defences for making a false statement to police

You may use a few different defences – the first is that someone else made you do it, the duress defence, and the other is the self-defence defence. The other defence of this would be that it wasn’t you, which is ‘got the wrong person’.

     What to do if police for any reason accuse you of giving a false statement

Contact a lawyer immediately, since this is a serious allegation that may result in untoward consequences.

Write your own story. Call Vanessa Ash and Associates today.