Of the bills being heard tomorrow, February 14th at 1:25pm by the Senate Human Services (HMS) Committee in State Capitol Room 016, there’s one of particular importance that I would like to point out: SB2164. SB2164 is about false reporting to authorities as specifically pertaining to child welfare services and judicial authorities.
As it stands, false reporting to law enforcement is already a misdemeanor under HRS 710-1015 so extending this to cover CPS/CWS and judicial authorities only stands to reason (since NO ONE should be falsely reporting anything for any reason, right?) Telling the truth is a moral imperative that shouldn’t need much reminding about in adulthood yet in a society that is becoming increasingly amoral and atheistic reminders are not only needed, but necessary.
False reporting, or lying, is something we discourage our children from doing as soon as they’re old enough to understand the concept. For many of us “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” from Aesop’s Fables is our first memorable example of why lying is so bad. The moral of the cautionary tale is probably one of the best-known consequences of false reporting, but not being believed at the moment when it matters the most is just one of the tragedies that can come about as a result.
When a false report of any kind is filed (whether that be police, fire, paramedic, CPS, etc.) one of the biggest and most immediate consequences is the instant waste of public resources (time, energy, effort) that go into responding to a threat that doesn’t exist. Considering the state of our economy, false reporting is more of an expensive waste now more then ever but beyond that, professionals responding to a false report means that they are not there or available to respond to the REAL emergencies that may come in. In cases of emergency response, lives can actually be lost – whether that’s the next person who needs a paramedic or the firefighter that axes his way into an unstable structure to put out a fire that doesn’t exist.
The penalties and consequences for false reporting can be severe and longer-lasting then the “prankster” may anticipate http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/white_collar_crimes/false-police-report.htm and while it’s only common sense not to lie, bear false witness or false report, these behaviors are inherent in domestic violence abusers who use such tactics to evade detection or to deflect attention away from their actions / the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, falsely reporting to CPS or to judicial officers related to family court proceedings is commonplace precisely because such false reporting is not presently criminalized; SB2164 would change that.
While false reporting to CPS/judicial officers doesn’t appear life-threatening on the surface, lives can certainly be put at-risk and lives destroyed as a result. How so? Consider:
On a Monday morning, a DV abuser falsely reports that his ex-wife is abusing their child. The child is removed from his mother’s care and placed into foster care while mom and her home are thoroughly investigated. On a Friday afternoon, a concerned neighbor reports that the little girl upstairs is being abused, but no foster care homes are available so the little girl remains at home where she’s subsequently beaten within an inch of her life that night for CPS showing up at the house.
False reporting and the mis/perception of the rate of false reporting also causes substantial harm to domestic violence victim-survivors who are met with increased scrutiny and doubt when disclosing the abuse they’re subjected to.
The MISperception is that false allegations are raised “all the time” as a custody tactic when this is simply not true. http://leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/cust_myths.html Moreover, when someone makes a bogus claim of domestic violence to “get a leg up” in other family court matters, that person is directly making matters worse for true victims of DV. Willfully and knowingly setting someone up like that should be punished, don’t you think? At the moment, however, false reporting is seen as nothing more then bad manners and while it can certainly be “counted” as Contempt of Court, it’s apparently not worth the trouble of pursuing so it’s shrugged off with no bearing or consequence when it should be taken seriously for the fraud that it is.
While there has been some argument about such legislation deterring or acting as a barrier to factual reporting, I think the benefits outweigh the risks and hope that SB2164 will encourage everyone to act on the up-and-up (if not to make those who would consider false reporting think twice and perhaps encourage them to stick to the truth instead).
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