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Dominion Post
January 13, 2004
False rape complaints cost millions
by Haydon Dewes
A rise in false rape complaints is soaking up police
resources and costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year.
Palmerston North police arrested a 17-year-old woman yesterday for allegedly
making a false statement about a rape on Sunday.
They spent a day and a half investigating the complaint.
The teenager is due to appear in Palmerston North District Court on Friday
and could face a maximum penalty of three months' imprisonment or a $2000
fine.
Figures issued by the Office of the Commissioner show police charged 471
people with making a false statement in the year to June 30, 2003.
A further six were charged with the more serious offence of fabricating
evidence.
Since June, 1998, police have noticed an overall rise in false statements
made, with an average of 444 per year.
There are no records to show what they refer to, but officers who spoke to
The Dominion Post said the majority of false complaints related to sex
offences.
The officer in charge of the Palmerston North case, Detective Sergeant Dave
Clifford, confirmed yesterday that police in the city were dealing with at
least one false rape or sexual assault complaint every week.
"It's out of control and it's frustrating as hell."
He could not say how much each false complaint cost taxpayers, but said the
cost of "man hours" alone for five investigators, a photographer
and crime scene officers and the costs of processing evidence would be
"extraordinary".
An officer costs at least $75 an hour while on duty. An experienced Wellington detective
said many false rape complaints would have staff tied up for two to three
days, sometimes longer.
Based on the number of staff working on the Palmerston North case, the annual
cost throughout New
Zealand could be in the millions.
The Palmerston North accused initially told police she was pushed into a
central city alleyway and raped by an unknown assailant, Mr Clifford said.
He became suspicious after the woman mentioned several things that did not
usually happen during a rape.
Police would continue to treat every complaint as genuine, but most had
become more cynical in their approach, he said.
"For the real victim, it does a large disservice to them. It also drags
us away from other important cases. Our file trays are full of things to
do."
The reasons for making false complaints were varied, he said.
Being rejected, trying to rescue a broken relationship, being drunk, or doing
a shameful act could all spur a person to make a complaint.
Police in Wellington
city dealt with a spate of about 12 false sexual assault complaints in the space
of a month late last year.
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