How much trouble would i get in for filing a false police report?

Question

I filed a police report saying my husband hit me and threatened to kill me. all he actually did was break my phone. now i need to let the police know the truth before he is arrested. how much trouble will i get in for doing this?

Answer 1

More trouble than your husband would I think.  Consult with a lawyer, tell your attorney that the police squeezed a confession out of you.  If that is not feasible, tell the police that you want to amend your report, and made those statements because you were scared that your husband would resort to violence.  This though, might not help your husband.  There will be an investigation, since domestic violence is taken very seriously.

Answer 2

In California this is a misdemeanor.  

Answer 3

Without knowing all the facts, there is a chance especially in DV cases that the DA will think you are not lying but just changing your story after the fact, a very common occurrence with the victim of the DV cases, to wit there is a very good chance the DA will move forward with the charges

Answer 4

well for coming clean they will let you off al ittle easier, but you will prbably have to go to court.  

Answer 5

If you come forward immediately before they expend any resources. You might get out of it relatively unscathed. Maybe a fine. It is a misdemanor crime. You might get probation depending on how long it has gone on. I would call them immediately. I would actually go in in person and apologize and recant. You can chalk it up to stress and say that you misinterpreted the situation due to high emotion and stress. If he broke something, you very well could have been in danger and misinterpreted his intent. That is how you want to phrase it. Don't just tell them that you made it up. Tell them you misinterpreted the situation. You will probably get out of it with a smack on the hand if your lucky. But, if they arrest him, he could sue you. The police could  jail you, fine you, and not believe you when it actually does happen in the future. Better recant immediately. They won't believe you after a certain amount of time has passed.

Answer 6

If someone went to jail over it than you could go to prison.and no its not a minor crime its a FELONY.I know someone who went to jail and never been in trouble before just for lying to a cop.Now this person can not get hired for most good jobs and can not rent a place to live in a good area because this is on her record.

Answer 7

It's a misdemeanor in my state (NC).  Up to one year in jail and up to a $1000 fine.  Those are the maximum.  The most you would probably get was a fine of a few hundred bucks and a suspended sentence.  If I had it my way this would be a felony with double the sentence of whatever crime you falsely reported.  Stop wasting the time of the Officers on your silly domestic problems.

Answer 8

I'm not sure what type of trouble you will get into, but you should fess up either way.  It is only the moral thing to do.  Maybe you can explain to the police that you were under duress from whatever led up to filing the false report.  Tell them that you want to drop the charges against him.  Hopefully, the police won't go after you for filing a false report.  I honestly don't know what the laws are on this subject, so can't comment.  Please tell the truth though, you wouldn't want to sit in jail for someone's lie, would you?  Hope everything works out for you.  Good Luck!