Is it a crime to lie to the police?

marcamm

marcamm

Well-Known Member
I'm just wondering if lying to a police officer is a criminal act. For example, you are being questioned and tell bare faced lies such as wrong information. Could you be imprisoned for that? If it is a crime, then what would be the punishment for it?

Personally, I think it is indeed a crime, but I'm not so sure. Thanks in advance guys!
 
Yes, you can get charged with impeding an investigation. If a cop asks you questions you don't want to answer, you don't have to answer. But giving false information is a bad idea and can get you charged with a misdemeanor (on top of whatever the cop might have been wanting to charge you with before you started lying).
 
I have never lied to an officer, but I don't see why anyone would want to anyways. If I was being questioned about something that fell in the time frames of my Husband and I having intercourse, or me using the bathroom, IT WILL BE TOLD. Honesty is always the best option.
 
marcamm said:
I'm just wondering if lying to a police officer is a criminal act. For example, you are being questioned and tell bare faced lies such as wrong information. Could you be imprisoned for that? If it is a crime, then what would be the punishment for it?

Personally, I think it is indeed a crime, but I'm not so sure. Thanks in advance guys!
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I think it is considered a crime. When you give false statements to the police, you can be accused of obstruction of justice. It could lead to prosecution if it has pretty gotten serious.
 
It really depends, if it is a formal statement and you sign it then it is perjury and you can be prosecuted. If it a house to house questioning and they ask if you saw anything and you reply no because you don;t want to get involved, you are lying if you did see something, but while it doesn't help you or them, you haven't committed a crime. That's why they often question people again to see if they change their mind or do 'remember' other things.
 
I think you are right Gabe, it depends on the context, but yeah, if you are interfering with an investigation or if you sign something that it's not true it's a crime for sure.
 
Why should you lie?

"“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Anything you say can be used against in you in a court of law. That includes all the lies you tell. So while lying might appear enticing best to remain silent when questioned instead of lying. That would keep you out of trouble.
 
Rainman said:
Why should you lie?

"“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Anything you say can be used against in you in a court of law. That includes all the lies you tell. So while lying might appear enticing best to remain silent when questioned instead of lying. That would keep you out of trouble.
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People assume when they choose to remain silent they have something to hide, but while you have the right to remain silent you can choose not to make a statement too. No one can force you to do so and people don't want to get involved because maybe they shouldn't have been somewhere at a particular time or they fear what what will happen if they do make a statement. Is ignorance the same as lying? You cannot be prosecuted for remaining silent or refusing to give a statement. They could say you are obstructing justice, which is why it's better to say nothing at all, which is why some people come forward later on when their conscience gets the better of them.
 
Gabe said:
It really depends, if it is a formal statement and you sign it then it is perjury and you can be prosecuted. If it a house to house questioning and they ask if you saw anything and you reply no because you don;t want to get involved, you are lying if you did see something, but while it doesn't help you or them, you haven't committed a crime. That's why they often question people again to see if they change their mind or do 'remember' other things.
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I agree as well. It does depend on the context, but for the most part it is lying. However, people who 'remember' other things can be related to false memory which is a documented occurrence where the individual distorts information.
 
I don't know how I feel about 'being silent' not hurting you. I suppose if you committed the crime they were suggesting you did & you were trying to avoid getting in trouble for that, sure. Though if you didn't do anything being silent makes you look guilty in a scenario where it may just be a misunderstanding you can explain your way out of.
 
marcamm said:
I'm just wondering if lying to a police officer is a criminal act. For example, you are being questioned and tell bare faced lies such as wrong information. Could you be imprisoned for that? If it is a crime, then what would be the punishment for it?

Personally, I think it is indeed a crime, but I'm not so sure. Thanks in advance guys!
Click to expand...
You can be charged for that too. It is called obstruction or it can be phrased as obstruction of justice. Either way you are lying to them and you need to remember the severity of your action.
 
Yes I do believe that it is a crime to lie to police. A person can get charged for such act and is definitely not that great.
 
It's certainly an offence to give false information to the police. Im my country, you could be charged with perjury or perverting the course of justice. If you don't want to tell the truth then stay silent rather than telling a lie.
 
Sometimes I wonder whether all outright lies indicate...ineptitude? If I don't want people to hear my name on the radio, I say that. If the true answer to "Did you see the incident?" would involve revealing that I was doing something I'd be ashamed of doing, well, that's another reason not to do that thing in the first place.
 
It is very much illegal to lie to a police officer. The law is worded something like "hindering a police investigation" or something like that depending on where you are. It is best to always tell the truth and hope you do not get in trouble for doing so. Most of the time the officer will be thankful that you are telling the truth and you will be let off much easier than if they were to catch you lying to them. The risk is not worth the reward.
 
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