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Under Title 21 O.S. Section 589 it can be a misdemeanor or a felony to falsely report a crime. Oklahoma law establishes two separate ways a person can falsely report a crime with two different penalties. In paragraph A of section 589 a person must “willfully, knowingly and without probable cause,” make a false report to any person which report causes or encourages the exercise of police action or investigation, that is a misdemeanor.

Under Oklahoma law, a defendant does not have to falsely report the crime to law enforcement themselves to violate paragraph A of this statute. Under this law if a defendant falsely reported a crime to anyone and as a result the other person reports the crime to law enforcement and that “report causes or encourages the exercise of police action or investigation” it would be a violation of paragraph A of this statute and would be “ punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than ninety (90) days or by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment”.

However, for a defendant to violate Title 21 Section 589 paragraph B, a person must make a false report to law enforcement directly. Under paragraph B of this statute it is a more serious offense and a felony if a person “ willfully, knowingly, and without probable cause communicate false information concerning a missing child to a law enforcement agency that causes or encourages the activation of an AMBER alert warning system”. A person that violates paragraph B of section 589 is “ guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year or by a fine of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.”