2015 Hawaii Revised Statutes
TITLE 37. HAWAII PENAL CODE
710. Offenses Against Public Administration
710-1015 False reporting to law-enforcement authorities.

§710-1015 False reporting to law-enforcement authorities. (1) A person commits the offense of false reporting to law-enforcement authorities if the person intentionally makes a report or causes the transmission of a report to law-enforcement authorities relating to a crime or other incident within their concern when the person knows that the information contained in the report is false.

(2) False reporting to law-enforcement authorities is a misdemeanor. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; gen ch 1993]

COMMENTARY ON §710-1015

The rationale behind this section is much the same as that behind §710-1014: it is undesirable that public resources be wasted, and it is possible that harm may occur from the diversion of public resources from legitimate needs.

The Model Penal Code and most recent state revisions deal with this problem directly.[1] The Code avoids specific listings of what kinds of information may not be falsely related to law-enforcement authorities by penalizing all knowing transmission of false information relating to a crime or other incident within their concern. This proscription would include cases where the crime or incident did not occur and where the report pretends to furnish information which the actor does not have.

Previous Hawaii law made false reporting to a police officer concerning a crime a misdemeanor. The Code, while retaining the same penalty, broadens and clarifies the definition of the offense.

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§710-1015 Commentary:

1. M.P.C. §241.5; N.Y.R.P.L. §240.50; Prop. Del. Cr. Code §735; Prop. Mich. Rev. Cr. Code §4540; Prop. Pa. Cr. Code §2106.