A Slough woman has been issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (£80 fine) for wasting police time after she admitted making a false report of robbery.
The woman dialled 999 at 9.20pm on Monday 8 December to report a robbery that she said had taken place in The Crescent, Chalvey, Slough, approximately an hour beforehand.
She claimed that a man had grabbed her round the neck and stolen her handbag. However, when asked to give a statement to Slough police as part of their investigation, the woman admitted that she had made up the incident.
Last month, on Tuesday 4 November, a knife point robbery was reported having been committed in Tamar Way, Langley, Slough where £800 had allegedly been stolen.
During Slough police interview, the victim told officers that he had made up the story because he owed the local housing authority rent arrears of £800 and was not in a position to pay this money. He told officers that he needed a crime report number which he felt would appease the housing authority. The man subsequently withdrew his allegation and was also issued with an £80 fine.
Supt Chris Shead, Commander of Slough Local Police Area, said: “We take all reports of robbery very seriously and to think that someone would falsely claim to be robbed is frankly unacceptable.
“False reporting wastes police resources and unnecessarily increases the fear of crime. People should not underestimate the seriousness of such behaviour.
“The message is clear – falsely reporting any crime is a serious matter and may result in a criminal conviction.”
He added: “Offences of robbery are serious and carry a maximum life term of imprisonment. Falsely reporting such serious offences could result in many hours of manpower lost with the possibility of innocent people being arrested. False reporting of robberies also takes officers off the streets when they could be dealing with other incidents.”
Thames Valley Police ~ Slough
