Wasting police time is listed as a

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

in many

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

countries.

United Kingdom

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, one can be charged with the offence under Section 5(2) of the

Criminal Law Act 1967 The Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made some major changes to English criminal law, as part of wider liberal reforms by the Labour government elected in 1966. Most of it is still in force. ...

when one "causes any wasteful employment of the police" by "knowingly making to any person a false report" which: *Shows that a criminal offence has been committed, *Creates apprehension for the safety of any persons or property, or *Indicates that they have information material to any police inquiry. The offence carries a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment and/or a fine. Less serious cases may result in a penalty notice for disorder of £80 for persons aged 16 or over and £40 for younger offenders. The same applies to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

according to Section 5(3) of the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967. For

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

the

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff C ...

stated in ''Kerr v. Hill'' that giving false information to the police constitutes a crime under

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, one can be charged under Section 24 of the Summary Offences Act 1981 for committing either of the following acts: * Making, or causing to be made, to a police employee any allegation of an offence "contrary to the fact and without a belief in the truth of the statement". * Creating serious apprehension for the safety of any person or property (whether by statement or behaviour), either with the intention of causing wasteful employment or diversion of police resources, or being reckless as to that result. A person convicted under this section may be sentenced to

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

for up to three months, or a

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...

of up to NZ$2000.

Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the offence (known as public

mischief Mischief (or malicious mischief) is the name for a class of criminal offenses that are defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a lega ...

) is defined by section 140 of the

Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

: :140. (1) Every one commits public mischief who, with intent to mislead, causes a peace officer to enter on or continue an investigation by ::(a) making a false statement that accuses some other person of having committed an offence; ::(b) doing anything intended to cause some other person to be suspected of having committed an offence that the other person has not committed, or to divert suspicion from himself; ::(c) reporting that an offence has been committed when it has not been committed; or ::(d) reporting or in any other way making it known or causing it to be made known that he or some other person has died when he or that other person has not died. :(2) Every one who commits public mischief ::(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or ::(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.''Criminal Code'', RSC 1985, c C-46, s 140.

United Kingdom

New Zealand

Canada

References

See also