False Report of a Crime (Burglary), in Michigan

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

My tenant reported to me an attempted burglary. He also said that he had called the city police (Grand Rapids, MI). It turned out that he had never called the police. The police did go to the house after my reporting the alleged attempted burglary; they inspected the premises and talked to the tenant (the tenant repeated to the police that, when he got home, he found the house had been broken in). The police in their report conclude that the the tenant got home drunk and forced his way into the house. Is the tenant's false reporting - to us and to the police when they interviewed him - a crime of some kind? Thanks!

Yes, intentionally filing a knowingly false police report is a crime in every state. In Michigan, false police reports are covered under Michigan's Penal Code, §750.411a.

If the false report is of a misdemeanor, the person filing the false report can be charged with a misdemeanor, and be subject to up to 93 days in jail and up to a $500 fine. If the false report is of a felony, the person filing the false report can be charged with a felony, and be subject to up to 4 years in jail and up to a $2000 fine.

What happens with a false report is, generally, nothing. The police have limited resources available and, if there was little time, money and energy expended on investigating the false report, they will generally let it go. However, if a lot of money was spent investigating the false report (as in the case of a false kidnapping or sexual assault), then the police will forward their investigation on to the prosecutor's office. The prosecutor will decide whether to pursue charges or not.

The police also take into consideration the mental health of the person making the false report. I imagine that their assumption that your tenant made the report because he was drunk could be accurate. Your tenant probably reported the burglary to you (and not to the police) as a way to get out of paying you for the damages he may have made to the apartment when he broke in.

Many thanks, Quincy, a few informative response! Here are a few more details, though I don't know how much of a difference they make:

- The tenant told *me* he had called the police upon discovering the "break in," and told me that the police did not want to come. It is when I called the police that I learned that he had not call them; rather, apparently the police received a call from some other neighbor, who apparently had heard the noise from the window being broken.

- The tenant repeated to the police the story of his coming back home and finding the window and the door broken. Yet, apparently the police did not believe him.

- He was drunk when got home and broke the window and door, not when he talked to me and then to the police, several hours after the incident.

In any event, as a landlord, I will go by what the police report says and, if the tenant does not pay for the damages, I will just detract the expenses from his deposit. I am just curious about whether this propensity to falsely reporting is of interest for the law, especially given that the tenant has a job involving very delicate responsibilities (pediatrician in a hospital). Personally, I would not want him to face such serious charges as the ones you explained. Yet, it also seems worrisome that he could pass on, to his landlord and to police officers, a false story of this kind.

(This is a very interesting forum - I think I will follow it for a long time)

You are wise, Brillo, to wait and see what the police report says.

There may be no evidence that connects your tenant to the damage made to the apartment. Even if the police note on their report that your tenant was drunk when they arrived (or when the tenant arrived back at the apartment), it does not necessarily follow that your tenant was the one responsible for breaking the door and window.

In other words, it could be difficult to collect from your tenant the costs of repairs, if your tenant denies breaking in. Your insurance should cover the repairs if the tenant won't.

I caution you to be very careful what you say about your tenant to anyone, without solid proof to back up what you say. Falsely accusing the tenant of a crime can result in a defamation suit being filed against you by the tenant, especially if it affects his job.

While I understand that you do not like being lied to, and I am sure the police do not like being lied to, by your tenant or anyone else, they were responding not to a call made by your tenant, but to a call made by a concerned neighbor. It is the job of the police to investigate all reports. I doubt, from what you have posted here, that the police will want to pursue the matter any further. And I am not sure that you will have evidence enough to pursue any action against the tenant on your own.

This may just be a matter where you file a claim with your insurance company, make repairs, and move on. If the tenant causes additional problems, you can always refuse to renew his lease, or look into evicting him.

Good luck.

Thanks, Quincy! I trust the police report was detailed enough on the matter, since they read its contents to me. Yet, I'll wait for it - better safe than sorry. I think, at worst, the expenses will come out from the tenant's deposit; yet, frankly, I will trust him more if he goes ahead and pays for the expenses (as he might after all).

From everything you told me, there should be an important lesson for him: he could have risked to ruin is reputation for what amounts to not that much money after all. I myself, of course, will do nothing to try to harm his reputation.