Police Time Wasters Will be 'Dealt With'

Police in West Yorkshire have warned time wasters in the region they will be found out and dealt with.

Officers in Kirklees said they recently issued three people from the same street in Holmfirth with fixed penalty notices following false allegations of crimes.

Last Friday evening a 34-year-old man from Moorlands in Scholes reported that his BMW had been stolen during a robbery in a secluded area just outside of Holmfirth.

Following police investigations, it was later ascertained that the man had actually been involved in a road traffic collision close by and had not in fact been robbed.

The man has now been issued with a fixed penalty notice for wasting police time.

In a separate incident on earlier this week, officers received reports of a burglary which had occurred at an address on Moorlands in Scholes.

Similarly, after police enquiries, a 33-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were found to have made a false allegation and were both issued fixed penalty notices.

Kirklees Detective Inspector Phil Benson said those who give false allegations are taking officers away from real incidents that need their attention.

"It means an officer's time is wasted when they could have been investigating a genuine crime and a genuine victim may suffer as a result," he said.

"People are foolish to think that we will take allegations of incidents at face value. Our officers investigate incidents extremely thoroughly and scrutinise everything that is reported to us."

DI Benson said those who make false allegations do so at their own peril and could find themselves with a criminal record.

"I hope this serves as a lesson to those who make false reports of crimes. Anyone making false reports to the police will be dealt with firmly," he added.

(PR/JM)