What is the penalty for false Police report in Virginia?
Be advised that it is a crime to make a false police report. Anyone found to have submitted a false police report will be prosecuted under the authority of Virginia State Code, Section 18.2-461, which shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Maximum possible penalty is one year in jail and/or $2,500 fine.
Filing a false police report can lead to multiple criminal consequences. Many states call this charge "false report to a peace officer." It is one of the few types of speech that is not constitutionally protected. Lying to a law enforcement officer can result in a criminal conviction.
Minor infractions, like lying about a misdemeanor offense, usually results in a similar misdemeanor charge. Lying about felony offenses can result in felony level charges. Misdemeanor punishment can result in a sentence ranging from probation to a year or two in county jail. Felony punishment can also result in probation, but a much higher prison sentence, from two to ten years.
Many false report charges come with severe civil penalties. Defendants, like runaway brides, have not only been given stiff probations, they have also been ordered to reimburse communities that expended funds to deal with the crisis created by the false report.
Filing a false report can also result in a separate civil suit. If a defendant falsely accuses someone of crime and the claims are unfounded many times a defendant could find themselves defending an expensive civil and a criminal suit at the same time.
The bottom line is, despite how desperate your situation is, filing a false police report is not the answer and doing so can have long-term financial and criminal consequences. Lying to the police and exaggerating the truth is never worth it.
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