What is the penalty for making false criminal accusations?

What is the penalty for making false criminal accusations?

Making an allegation of a criminal offence against another person can have far-reaching consequences. The implications for the accused can be life-changing: They may suffer damage to their reputation, lose their job, feel stigmatised by friends and family, or go to prison.

Resultantly (and you might think, quite rightly), it is a criminal offence to knowingly make a criminal accusation which is false, and the penalty for doing so can be significant.

Is it a criminal offence to make a false criminal accusation?

A person who has intentionally made a false criminal accusation may themselves be guilty of a criminal offence. In situations where a person has made an allegation and it is suggested that the allegation is false, or where a retraction statement has been made, the Crown Prosecution Service will consider whether one of the following offences may have been committed:

Wasting police time

Wasting police time is an offence contrary to section 5(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1967. The offence is committed when a person causes wasteful employment of the police by knowingly making a false allegation that an offence has been committed, which gives rise to either apprehension for the safety of persons or property or a belief that they have information relevant to a police inquiry. The report does not necessarily need to be made to the police and can be made orally or in writing.

Wasting police time is a summary only offence which means that it can only be tried in the Magistrates’ Court. Proceedings must be started within 6 months of the date on which the false allegation was made (not from the date on which the allegation was identified as being false) and may only be instituted with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

There are no sentencing guidelines for an offence of wasting police time. The offence could attract up to the statutory maximum sentence of 6 months imprisonment, or a fine could be imposed. The police may offer a fixed penalty notice which would cost the person who is guilty of making the false accusation approximately £90, but would not result in a criminal conviction.

Wasting police time might be charged where the harm caused by the false allegation, or the culpability of the person making it, is reduced. This might be where, for example, there has been an admission that the original allegation was false (perhaps in a retraction statement) or where the original false allegation did not result in anyone’s arrest (meaning therefore there has been no deprivation of a person’s liberty) or where a person was not arrested or charged with an offence so  have not suffered any damage to their reputation as a result of the false allegation.

In comparison to an offence of perverting the course of justice (discussed below), wasting police time is a lower-level offence and it may be possible to persuade the police or the Crown Prosecution Service to consider an out of court disposal for this type of offence. Old Bailey Solicitors are particularly experienced at making written representations to the police and Crown Prosecution Service to try to persuade the police not to take a person to court and instead to resolve a matter without resorting to criminal proceedings.

Perverting the course of justice

Perverting the course of justice is a much more serious offence which can attract a sentence of life imprisonment. It is triable only on indictment which means that it must be dealt with in the Crown Court.

In order to be convicted of this offence, the prosecution must prove that a person has done a positive act, or a series of acts, which has a tendency to pervert and is intended to pervert the course of public justice.

A person who intentionally makes a false accusation and causes a police investigation into a possible offence having been committed, may be guilty of an offence. It is not necessary for the case to go to court; a police investigation which results in the arrest of an innocent person will suffice.

Why would someone make a false accusation?

In order to prove an intention that the false accusation was intended to be taken seriously by the police, the prosecution is likely to consider motive.

Many people will have heard the phrase, ‘there is no smoke without fire’. People often find it difficult to accept that a criminal allegation might be false, especially when the allegation is serious and when the consequences for the accused can be so severe. They, perhaps understandably, ask themselves why on earth a person might do such a thing? They conclude that there must surely be some truth to the allegation.

However, as a criminal defence solicitor with experience representing people who have either been the victim of a false allegation or who require advice because they wish to withdraw an allegation they have made, I can say with confidence that it absolutely does happen.

Often, but not exclusively, false accusations relate to allegations of sexual offences or offences that have taken place in a domestic setting. Motivation for making a false accusation of course varies, but more often than not, false allegations follow some sort of argument or disagreement, or take place within the context of a relationship break down. Put simply, the most common type of false accusation that I see stems from a person feeling as though they have been wronged; who perhaps wants to get their own back; with a desire for revenge. Scary, but true.

Can I retract a false criminal accusation?

All that said, retraction statements aren’t always made because a false allegation has been made maliciously. More common is the situation when an allegation, albeit truthful, has been made in a state of heightened emotion. A person may have called the police during or immediately following an argument with their partner or another family member, for example. They may have been upset and angry when they spoke to the police and exaggerated the facts of the alleged offence, or exaggerated how they felt, as a result of the emotion that they were feeling at that time. That is not the same as lying, or intending something to be false, but it may have resulted in a situation where the accused person appears more culpable than they truly are.

Similarly, the person making the allegation may not have intended the consequences that follow. They may not have realised the implications of making a statement to the police, or understood that they would, essentially, be supporting a prosecution as a result of signing a witness statement. They may have wanted police intervention, but not a prosecution.

In those circumstances, a person may wish to make a retraction statement to withdraw their initial  allegation. Clearly, deciding not to pursue a legitimate allegation is not the same as making and then retracting a false allegation. However, a person making a retraction statement must take care because if their initial allegation was untrue, they may themselves be guilty of a criminal offence and risk implicating themselves in an offence of wasting police time, or worse, perverting the course of justice, by making a further statement which suggests that they were lying.

How can we help?

Old Bailey Solicitors have experience of representing people accused of perverting the course of justice and of wasting police time. We recently successfully defended a client charged with perverting the course of justice by writing to the prosecution and persuading them that the evidence did not demonstrate an intention by our client to provide a false narrative of events, or an attempt to maintain that narrative. The charge was dropped.

Camilla Rents has particular experience assisting people who have made an allegation (false or otherwise) and require advice about the possible consequences or implications of making a retraction statement. To get in touch with our specialist team to discuss your specific situation, please contact us.