Is Filing a False Police Report a Crime in AZ? (13-2907.01)

What Is False Reporting to Law Enforcement Under ARS 13-2907.01?

Almost nobody plans to make a false report to the police. It usually happens in a pressured moment: someone panics during a traffic stop, tries to cover for a friend, reports a car stolen to avoid a problem, or shades a story during an investigation. Weeks later, a charge under ARS 13-2907.01 shows up on the paperwork, often stacked on top of whatever the officers were originally looking into.

This guide covers exactly what the false reporting statute prohibits, the real-world situations that trigger it, why it is a class 1 misdemeanor rather than a felony, how it commonly gets added to other charges, how it differs from related offenses, and the defenses that actually work. For the general classification framework, see our overview of a class 1 misdemeanor in Arizona.

False reporting to law enforcement is knowingly giving a police agency information you know is untrue in order to mislead officers or disrupt the agency. ARS 13-2907.01 puts it this way: “It is unlawful for a person to knowingly make to a law enforcement agency of either this state or a political subdivision of this state a false, fraudulent or unfounded report or statement or to knowingly misrepresent a fact for the purpose of interfering with the orderly operation of a law enforcement agency or misleading a peace officer.” Subsection B classifies the offense as a class 1 misdemeanor.

Broken into its working parts, the state has to prove all of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

• You acted knowingly, meaning you knew the report, statement, or fact was false; an honest mistake does not count;
• A false, fraudulent, or unfounded report or statement, or a knowing misrepresentation of a fact;
• Made to a law enforcement agency of Arizona or one of its political subdivisions, such as a city police department or the county sheriff; and
• For the purpose of interfering with the orderly operation of that agency or misleading a peace officer.

The statute has two mental-state hooks working at once: the falsehood has to be knowing, and it has to be aimed at interfering with the agency or misleading an officer. A statement that is technically inaccurate but made without knowing it was false, or with no purpose to mislead, does not satisfy the law. That gap is where most of the real defense work happens.

Real Situations That Lead to a False Reporting Charge

False reporting charges come out of ordinary encounters far more often than dramatic hoaxes. The most common fact patterns defense attorneys see in Arizona courts include:

• Making a false crime report. Calling 911 or walking into a station to report a burglary, assault, or theft that never happened is a knowingly false report to a law enforcement agency.
• Falsely reporting a stolen car. Reporting a vehicle stolen when you know it was loaned, repossessed, or hidden, often to explain a wreck or dodge a citation, is a classic ARS 13-2907.01 case, and it can spin into fraud allegations if insurance is involved.
• Covering for someone else. Telling officers you were the driver, that you did not see anything, or that a friend was somewhere they were not, in order to steer the investigation away from the real suspect.
• Giving a fake story during an investigation. Inventing an alibi, a timeline, or an account of what happened during questioning on a domestic violence, DUI, or assault call.

The common thread is that the statement is meant to move the investigation in a false direction. Simply staying silent, saying you do not want to answer questions, or asking for a lawyer is not false reporting; you have a right to do all three. The crime is affirmatively feeding officers information you know is untrue.

Why Is False Reporting a Class 1 Misdemeanor?

Under subsection B of ARS 13-2907.01, a violation is a class 1 misdemeanor, which is the most serious misdemeanor level in Arizona but still not a felony. That classification sets the ceiling on your exposure. For a class 1 misdemeanor, ARS 13-707 caps jail at six months, and ARS 13-802 caps the fine at $2,500, before surcharges. Probation is commonly available, especially on a first offense, but a conviction is still a permanent criminal record.

How Does False Reporting Get Added to Other Charges?

In practice, ARS 13-2907.01 is very often an add-on count rather than a case on its own. Prosecutors use it as leverage: when someone gives officers a false account during a stop or an investigation, the false statement becomes a separate charge layered on top of the original offense. A driver who lies about who was behind the wheel, a person who invents a story during a domestic violence call, or someone who gives a fake account at the scene can end up facing the underlying charge plus a false reporting count.

That stacking matters for two reasons. First, each count carries its own sentence, so the misdemeanor adds real exposure even when it looks minor next to the main charge. Second, the same lie can support more serious, felony-level offenses. Steering officers away from a suspect can look like hindering prosecution, and knowingly interfering with a criminal case can look like obstructing a criminal investigation, both of which can be charged as felonies depending on the facts. Getting the false reporting count knocked out early can remove the prosecutor’s stepping stone to those heavier charges.

How Is False Reporting Different From Related Offenses?

Several Arizona statutes sit close to false reporting, and they are frequently confused. Knowing which one actually fits the facts can change the classification and the strategy.

• False reporting of an emergency (ARS 13-2907). This is a separate crime for knowingly making a false report of a bombing, fire, or other emergency, or a false report of a serious offense at a school or place of worship. A conviction can also make you liable for the cost of the emergency response, so this is distinct from an ordinary false statement to police.
• False reporting of sexual assault involving a spouse (ARS 13-2907.03). A narrow, specific offense, also a class 1 misdemeanor, that applies to intentionally making, or coercing someone to make, a knowingly false spousal sexual assault report.
• Giving a false name. Providing a false name or false identifying information to a peace officer is generally charged under a separate false-identity statute rather than ARS 13-2907.01, though the same encounter can sometimes support both.
• Obstructing and hindering. Obstructing a criminal investigation and hindering prosecution reach conduct that interferes with a case and can be felonies, while false reporting focuses specifically on the knowingly false statement itself.

Because these offenses overlap, the exact wording of what you allegedly said, and to whom, drives which statute applies. That is one of the first things worth pinning down with a defense lawyer.

What Are the Defenses to a False Reporting to Law Enforcement Charge?

False reporting cases turn on two elements that are hard for the state to prove: that you knew the statement was false, and that you intended to mislead or interfere. Defenses that defense attorneys commonly raise in Arizona courts include:

• No knowing falsity. If you believed what you told officers was true, the “knowingly” element fails. Reports made in genuine confusion, panic, or on secondhand information are not crimes just because they later proved wrong.
• Honest mistake or ambiguity. A statement that was vague, misremembered, or reasonably open to more than one meaning is not the same as a deliberate lie, and ambiguity cuts against proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
• No intent to mislead or interfere. The statute requires a purpose to interfere with the agency or mislead a peace officer. An off-hand or emotional remark with no such purpose does not meet that requirement.
• The statement was not material. If what you said had no real capacity to send the investigation off course, the state’s theory that you interfered with the agency’s orderly operation weakens.
• It was silence or a refusal, not a false statement. Declining to answer, saying you do not know, or asking for a lawyer is protected and is not a false report.
• Constitutional problems. Statements taken through an unlawful stop or without required warnings can be suppressed, which can remove the very words the false reporting count is built on.

How Tamou Law Group Defends False Reporting Cases

Because false reporting is usually one count among several, our first job is to separate it from the charges it is attached to and attack it on its own terms. We pull the exact language of what you allegedly said from the reports, body-camera footage, and 911 recordings, then test whether the state can actually prove you knew it was false and meant to mislead, rather than that you were scared, confused, or simply exercising your right not to explain.

From there, the goal is to keep the misdemeanor from becoming a springboard to felony obstructing or hindering charges, and to resolve first-time cases without a conviction where possible through dismissal, reduction, or diversion. Our team of former prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and public defenders handles false reporting alongside the full range of Arizona criminal defense matters, including resisting arrest and related charges. Call 623-321-4699 to talk through the specific facts of your case.