What Is the Law in Louisiana Concerning False Police Reports?
Filing a false police report is the process of fabricating a story to the police for the purpose of framing someone or getting out of trouble yourself. The penalty varies state by state.
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Louisiana State Law
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Louisiana state law specifies that filing a false police report is an act of "criminal mischief." The law defines criminal mischief partly as "giving of any false report or complaint to a sheriff, or his deputies, or to any officer of the law relative to the commission of, or an attempt to commit, a crime."
Consequences
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If a follow-up on a report reveals that it is false, the police and prosecutor's office can choose to pursue a charge of criminal mischief against the filer. The law specifies the penalty in section 14:59: "Whoever commits the crime of criminal mischief shall be fined not more than $500, or be imprisoned for not more than six months in the parish jail, or both."
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Example
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On July 30, 2010, a woman in Shreveport, Louisiana, called the police to the scene of an armed robbery. She claimed she'd been robbed at gunpoint in the stairwell of a parking garage by a black male suspect. When questioned at length, it became clear the woman had fabricated the story. She was taken to the station and booked on a count of criminal mischief.
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