Rash of false police reports in West Michigan not so unusualand then in the story:
But false reports of rape are rare, police say.So which is it? Either the false reports are rare, or they aren't. And the fact that you have recently had 2 false rape reports seems to say they aren't rare.
Two false rape reports, but false accusations 'rare'.
For those who make up tall tales for the police, having their pants catch on fire is the least of their worries.
While there have been a handful of people in the news lately charged with making up crime stories, they represent just a fraction of the false reports made to area law enforcement each year.
Take the 31-year-old Grand Rapids woman who told police she was abducted and sexually assaulted by four men on Grand Rapids' Southeast Side.
Police say she later told them she had taken her mom's car without permission and made up the story to stay out of trouble. She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted false report of a felony -- a high court misdemeanor that could net her two years behind bars.
Last month, Julie Kathleen Rau told police a worker came to her Hidden Valley Town Homes apartment in Plainfield Township, claiming he was there to install drywall but instead sexually assaulted her.
A day later, Rau admitted she fabricated the story, Kent County sheriff's officials said. She was arrested and is scheduled for a probable cause hearing on the felony charge Monday in Rockford District Court.
Last week, a Georgetown Township man found with a cut to his head and a drywall screw in his chest allegedly told police he had been assaulted. Ottawa County Sheriff's deputies now say the man inflicted his own injuries. It is unclear whether he will be charged.
Since January 2008, the Kent County Sheriff's Department has handled 29 false reports.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Department had 24 reports during that same period.
Regardless of the reasons people falsely report a crime, the aftermath can be a major headache for the authorities.
"When we get the report, we're all in and, if it's a major case, we'll assign six, seven, eight investigators onto it," said Kent County sheriff's Lt. Kevin Kelly.
"We don't have the luxury of not looking into it because we think it doesn't sound right."
Kelly said while false reports have been getting more media attention lately, they have not increased in number in recent years.
Prove it
Not everyone who makes a false report is charged with the crime.
Under Michigan law, a false report of a felony can result in a maximum of four years in prison while a false report of a misdemeanor has a maximum of 93 days in jail.
Sometimes, charging a person with a false report can be tricky, especially when it comes to allegations of criminal sexual conduct, Holland Police Detective Lisa Bancuk said.
While a case may sound fishy, knowing it's false and proving it can be two different things, Bancuk said.
"Legally, you can't offer up a polygraph test (to someone making a CSC complaint)," Bancuk said.
"It's so difficult because, if it did happen, you want to be sensitive."
But false reports of rape are rare, police say. Among the most frequent cases in which people lie to police involve drunken driving.
For example, a driver will crash a car into a tree, pole or parked car, then stumble home. He or she will call police after sobering up, claiming the car was stolen, said Joshua Kuiper, Assistant Kent County Prosecutor.
A lot of perjury
He said prosecutors see a lot of perjury, when people lie about their behavior or make up a story to protect someone else.
Kuiper said prosecutors will file charges whenever they have enough evidence to make a case.
Kuiper said people who think they can get out of a scrape may lie or people looking to get revenge during a divorce or other domestic dispute.
Kelly said sometimes people trying to scam their insurance company will falsely report their golf clubs or other property stolen to collect on a claim.
Kuiper said children are very unlikely to falsely report abuse, whether physical or sexual.
In fact, they tend to be reluctant to say anything because they fear removal from their home or angering an authority figure.
He said prosecutors take into account whether someone might be lying because they were threatened or because they have a mental illness.
"We always try to do what's fair," Kuiper said. "(But) a false report makes a lot of work for everyone."
Link:
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/08/rash_of_false_police_reports_i.html
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8 comments:
The new gender feminist / law enforcement misinformation Alliance is around 25-30 years old now. It is a constitutional violation for the law enforcement community to manufacture and distribute faulty and inflammatory misinformation.
This is the root of the perversion, and it has festered for around 25 years..to the point where false rape accusations are foaming out like puss from an infection.
Stop the violence...break the Alliance!!
Gender feminists quack scholars protect their misinformation Alliance..with more lies/ hysteria..they say that "women and girls are being raped everywhere, behind every closed door in America..they just aren't telling anyone"..
WHICH I SAY IS JUST MORE FAULTY AND INFLAMMATORY MISINFORMATION, TO TRY AND JUSTIFY MORE FAULTY AND INFLAMMATORY MISINFORMATION.
Anonymous said...
The new gender feminist / law enforcement misinformation Alliance is around 25-30 years old now. It is a violation of the U.S. Constitutional for the law enforcement community to manufacture and distribute faulty and inflammatory misinformation.
This is the root of the perversion, and it has festered for around 25 years..to the point where false rape accusations are foaming out like puss from an infection.
Stop the violence...break the Alliance!!
correction made
But false reports of rape are rare, police say. Among the most frequent cases in which people lie to police involve drunken driving.
No, they aren't. What is rare is for police and prosecutors to figure out that they're dealing with a false accuser and to deal with the situation appropriately. The norm is for the innocent victim to be put on trial.
And think about it: why WOULD false rape accusations be rare, if there's no punishment for making them? It is well known that women are often involved in fraud-related crimes. What do these idiots think is stopping the liars from lying about rape?
But there won't be any town hall meetings packed with engraged men over this. Men don't care; they'll work themselves into a frenzy because they think Obama is a commie but they'll sit idly and watch thousands of innocent men be victimized by the system.
But there won't be any town hall meetings packed with engraged men over this. Men don't care; they'll work themselves into a frenzy because they think Obama is a commie but they'll sit idly and watch thousands of innocent men be victimized by the system.
The thing is, this isn't even on the political radar. If I were to get up at a townhall and voice my concern over false rape allegations, first I would be met with a blank stare, and then, if laughter didn't occur, I'd likely be given some dismissive platitude.
The first step is to raise awareness of just how large a problem is, then get the action going to fix it. You can't fix the legal system if people aren't aware of how bad the problem is.
The Archivist - "The first step is to raise awareness of just how large a problem is, then get the action going to fix it. You can't fix the legal system if people aren't aware of how bad the problem is."
Oddly enough, the people MOST aware of the issue of false rape claims ARE those who work in the legal system.
While I cannot speak for them, I sincerely believe that many of them WOULD very much like to reform the systems, but feel that they do not have the backing (either from superiors, nor from the public at-large) to undertake such efforts themselves.
I know some of the folks are probably tired of me defending the police and prosecutors, but at an individual level, if one has a complaining witness (aka false accuser) who never-the-less remains highly insistent that the case be carried forward, one must also consider how they will explain and validate to their superiors why they chose to ignore the "poor victim's" wishes.
Believe it or not, that is often a very daunting hurtle to overcome.
It often happens that people who have even very specious claims of crimes will write inflammatory letters about their supposed mistreatment (even their stupid claims being proven unfounded) not only to superiors like Police Chiefs and elected DA's, but also to the media. Some of the stories I've heard of are as laughable as they are sad, but, in each, either police of prosecutors HAD to very carefully consider the ramifications of not taking those complainants seriously.
slwerner,
As Pierce has stated, and has been proven true many times, a lot of that comes from the politicization of the issue, and the shrill screaming from the gender feminist/rape industry.
I have no problem with someone making a judgement call, whether it is the cops on the scene, during the investigation, or by the prosecutor when it is placed on the their desk. They are the first ones, and quite often, the best ones to know when a claim is bogus. Like it or not, cops/da's are usually very good at knowing when someone is lying to them.
The flip side of that is, they also need to be held to the highest standards of accountability if they push the case forward knowing that it is a bogus claim (this should also go for the false accuser...of course).
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