False Reports to Law Enforcement Authorities
Knowingly giving false information to a law enforcement officer concerning the alleged commission of a crime.
Florida Statute
§ 837.05
False reports to law enforcement authorities
Verified against the 2026 Florida Statutes: September 14, 2026
Quick Summary
Confirm that the defendant knew both that the crime information was false and that the recipient was a law enforcement officer. A prior qualifying conviction or a report concerning a capital felony raises the offense to a third-degree felony.
Classification Matrix
Use this as a quick classification reference. Specific facts, statutory circumstances, and charging allegations may affect the applicable result.
False Information Concerning a Crime — Baseline
F.S. § 837.05(1)(a)
Knowingly giving false information to a known law enforcement officer concerning the alleged commission of a crime, when no felony track applies.
Qualifying Repeat Violation
F.S. § 837.05(1)(b)
A subsection (1)(a) violation after a prior subsection (1)(a) conviction when the information was written or the oral information is corroborated by a statutorily listed recording, statement, or witness.
False Information Concerning a Capital Felony
F.S. § 837.05(2)
Knowingly giving false information to a known law enforcement officer concerning the alleged commission of a capital felony.
Elements of the Offense
Elements of the Offense
Elements marked AND are cumulative. Elements marked OR identify statutory alternatives; one applicable alternative must be established when that theory is charged. Conditional elements apply only to the identified statutory track.
- Element 1AND — Required
Baseline or qualifying-repeat track — all required
The defendant knowingly gave information about the alleged commission of a crime.
Plain language: The defendant gave information claiming that a crime had occurred.
- Element 2AND — Required
Baseline or qualifying-repeat track — all required
The defendant knew the information was false.
Plain language: The defendant knew the reported crime information was untrue.
- Element 3AND — Required
Baseline or qualifying-repeat track — all required
The defendant gave the false information to a law enforcement officer.
Plain language: The information was given to an officer.
- Element 4AND — Required
Baseline or qualifying-repeat track — all required
The recipient was a law enforcement officer.
Plain language: The person receiving the information held a qualifying law-enforcement position.
- Element 5AND — Required
Baseline or qualifying-repeat track — all required
The defendant knew the recipient was a law enforcement officer.
Plain language: The defendant knew the person receiving the information was an officer.
- Element 6AND — Required
Capital-felony track — all required
The defendant knowingly gave information about the alleged commission of a crime.
Plain language: The defendant gave information claiming that a crime had occurred.
- Element 7AND — Required
Capital-felony track — all required
The defendant knew the information was false.
Plain language: The defendant knew the reported information was untrue.
- Element 8AND — Required
Capital-felony track — all required
The crime alleged was a capital felony.
Plain language: The false information concerned an alleged capital felony.
- Element 9AND — Required
Capital-felony track — all required
The defendant gave the false information to a law enforcement officer.
Plain language: The information was given to an officer.
- Element 10AND — Required
Capital-felony track — all required
The recipient was a law enforcement officer.
Plain language: The person receiving the information held a qualifying law-enforcement position.
- Element 11AND — Required
Capital-felony track — all required
The defendant knew the recipient was a law enforcement officer.
Plain language: The defendant knew the person receiving the information was an officer.
Jury Instructions
Jury Instructions
Instruction 21.5
Giving False Information Concerning the Commission of a Crime
Covers F.S. § 837.05(1), including the bifurcated qualifying-prior-conviction enhancement when charged.
View Official InstructionVerified against the official instruction source: September 14, 2026
Instruction 21.6
Giving False Information Concerning the Commission of a Capital Felony
Covers the capital-felony track under F.S. § 837.05(2).
View Official InstructionVerified against the official instruction source: September 14, 2026
Additional Notes
Additional Notes
Quick Reference
The baseline offense is a first-degree misdemeanor. A qualifying prior conviction with written information or statutorily corroborated oral information, or false information concerning an alleged capital felony, is a third-degree felony.
Important Distinction
Section 837.05 applies when a person knowingly gives false information about an alleged crime to a person the defendant knows is a law enforcement officer. Distinguish F.S. § 817.49, which addresses willfully conveying a false report of a crime to law enforcement or a public-safety-agency employee while knowing no such crime occurred.
Restitution and Costs
A court must order a convicted person to pay prosecution and investigation costs and restitution to a victim suffering damage or injury proximately resulting from lawful conduct arising from the law-enforcement response.