Petition · past parliament
make wrongly reporting someone to a law enforcement agency a criminal offence
Closed
65 signatures
What the petition asks
At present people who deliberately mislead the police by making false accusations may be prosecuted for a number of offences such as wasting police time or attempting to pervert the court of justice. There is no similar offence where malicious claims are made to other law enforcement agencies.
There are regular prosecutions for wasting police time. Where a person acting maliciously reports his victim to the local authority, the RSPCA, trading standards, health and safety executive, the benefits agency, etc. the effects on the victim can be equally distressing, as well as costly in time and money for both the victim and the investigating agency. Civil redress would usually involve the High Court with a defamation action or similar and is beyond the means of many victims.
Timeline
| 22 Mar 2018 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 22 Sep 2018 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
65
Status
Closed
Opened
22 Mar 2018
Closed
22 Sep 2018
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.