Teenager fined over robbery hoax in Newtown, Ashford
A teenager has been fined for wasting police
time after falsely claiming he had been robbed at knifepoint.
More than 10 police officers, including a dog handler and a
detective, were called to Baxendale Court, Newtown, after the
19-year-old man from Ashford made the hoax claim at 3.10am on
Tuesday.
He had phoned the police alleging he had been robbed by someone
with a knife and cash had been stolen.
Officers became suspicious when the so-called "victim" gave
inconsistent accounts of what had happened.
He later admitted he had made up the whole allegation and
had even self-harmed to make it look like he had been injured in
the robbery.
After admitting making the false allegation and wasting police
time, he was issued with an £80 fine.
Ashford district commander Ch Insp Phil Hibben said: "There can
never be any excuse for wasting police time and diverting officers
away from dealing with genuine calls for help.
"Whilst officers were investigating this incident, they were not
available to attend other genuine calls from the public,
potentially putting lives at risk.
"We will always take action against people who deliberately make
false reports of crime."
16/01/13
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