A report to police, an emergency agency or a reporting hotline can lead to an accusation that the information was knowingly false. The charge turns on what was communicated, what the person knew, the recipient and the statutory circumstances. A mistaken report is not automatically a knowingly false one. Preserve the complete communication and identify the actual section charged.
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Third degree: the recipient and report matter
Penal Law 240.50 is a class A misdemeanor requiring knowledge that the information reported, conveyed or circulated is false or baseless. Its alternatives concern a crime, catastrophe or emergency report or warning where public alarm or inconvenience is not unlikely; a nonexistent or non-occurring catastrophe or emergency reported to an official or quasi-official emergency-response agency; gratuitous information to law enforcement; and the specified child-abuse or vulnerable-person channels.
Subdivision (3) separately addresses volunteered or unsolicited reports of an offense or incident that did not occur, an impending offense or incident that is not about to occur, and false information about an actual offense or incident or a person’s alleged implication in it. False information about an actual incident need not implicate another person to fall within that alternative. The gratuitous-report requirement matters; this subdivision should not be described as covering every false answer to police questioning.
The hotline alternative concerns a nonexistent child-abuse/maltreatment or vulnerable-person abuse/neglect report to the statewide child-abuse or vulnerable-person central register, or to a person required to report under Social Services Law 413(1) or 491. For that mandated-reporter route, the accused must know the recipient is required to report and intend onward reporting to the register. Counsel must match the recipient, information and mental state to the actual subdivision.
Second degree: fire, explosion and hazardous substances
Section 240.55 addresses knowingly false or baseless reports of a fire, explosion or release of a hazardous substance. Its three alternatives distinguish a report or warning of an occurrence or impending occurrence where public alarm or inconvenience is not unlikely; a nonexistent or non-occurring emergency reported to an official or quasi-official response agency; and a warning of an occurrence or impending occurrence on private premises where public alarm or inconvenience is likely. It is a class E felony.
A false claim involving any subject is not automatically second degree. Identify the actual hazard communicated, recipient and circumstances rather than treating every call to 911 as the same felony.
First degree: the statute adds specific conditions
Section 240.60 is a class D felony. One alternative combines second-degree false reporting with a previous conviction for that offense. That alternative does not state a ten-year limit; do not import one from an unrelated statute.
The injury alternatives require a third-degree offense under 240.50(1) or (2), or a second-degree offense under 240.55(1) or (2). Under 240.60(2), an emergency-agency employee/member, volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance worker must suffer serious physical injury or death performing official duties while traveling to or working at the reported location, or returning from it to a firehouse, police station, quarters or other base facility. The separate 240.60(3) alternative concerns serious injury or death resulting from an accident involving an emergency vehicle responding to, operating at or returning from the reported location. Do not substitute the responder-return destination requirement into that accident alternative.
Other first-degree alternatives concern knowingly false warnings of an occurrence or impending occurrence of a fire, explosion or release of a hazardous substance on school grounds or at the public locations listed in 240.60(6), with people likely present and public alarm or inconvenience likely. Those locations include stadiums, arenas, mass transportation facilities, enclosed shopping malls, public buildings and public places. These conditions should not be replaced by a generic “serious false report” label.
Degree comparison and penalties
| Degree | Classification | Sentencing issue |
|---|---|---|
| Third — 240.50 | Class A misdemeanor | Maximum definite jail term 364 days under 70.15. |
| Second — 240.55 | Class E felony | Listed as a violent felony under 70.02; do not use only a generic nonviolent-felony summary. |
| First — 240.60 | Class D felony | Listed as a violent felony under 70.02; sentence depends on applicable provisions and prior history. |
70.02 contains the violent-felony classifications and sentence rules. Counsel should assess the actual conviction, prior-offender provisions and available dispositions instead of predicting imprisonment from a headline. Restitution can include emergency-response expenses within 60.27(13), subject to its conditions; the amount requires statutory analysis.
Knowledge is different from a report later disproved
An investigation may establish that the reported event did not occur as described. The further issue is what the accused knew when reporting. An inaccurate recollection, reliance on another person or an ambiguous communication needs examination rather than an automatic concession that the information was knowingly false.
At trial, CPL 70.20 requires legally sufficient evidence proving every offense element and the accused person’s commission beyond a reasonable doubt. Counsel should separate evidence of falsity, authorship, knowledge, recipient and any degree-changing circumstances.
Three hypothetical proof questions
A caller relying on a message
A caller reports a warning received from another person. Preserve the original warning and the complete call. The recipient’s later finding that no hazard existed does not, by itself, explain what the caller knew or represented at the time.
A report attributed to an account
A report arrives through an account accessible to several people. Login information, device evidence, timing and witness accounts may help assess authorship. Account ownership is evidence to examine, not an automatic answer to who submitted the report.
An injury following an emergency response
The accusation relies on a responder’s injury after a report. Counsel must examine the underlying reporting offense and the timing, responder status and injury circumstances required by the first-degree alternative. A later injury is not automatically enough.
These examples identify investigative questions; they do not describe firm outcomes or teach how to evade reporting systems.
Records, statements and response chronology
Identify original call recordings, dispatch logs, full messages, account records, recipient notes, source information and response timelines. Where injury or response costs are alleged, identify the relevant records and calculation rather than accepting a summary. Do not alter logs, delete messages or coordinate accounts with others.
Give counsel any interview request and explain statements already made. The defense may need to examine identification, wording, knowledge, statutory scope, causation and how evidence was obtained. Ask about lawful preservation and disclosure before contacting an agency to make another explanatory statement.
Court process and related allegations
Bring every appearance notice, charging document and release condition. A case can involve discovery, investigation, motions, negotiations, hearings or trial. Felony allegations may involve grand-jury proceedings. Do not miss a date or assume that correcting a report privately ends the criminal case.
A complaint may allege other offenses, including a threat or false instrument. Those require separate legal analysis. Read the criminal defense hub and Russ Kofman’s profile. Identify the actual New York county and court; the firm’s Manhattan and Lynbrook offices are not additional courts.
Frequently asked questions
Is an inaccurate report automatically a crime?
No. The prosecution must prove the charged statutory conduct and required knowledge of falsity or baselessness, along with the other elements.
Is every false 911 call a first-degree felony?
No. Each degree has distinct report, recipient and additional conditions. Counsel must identify the actual subsection rather than infer it from the emergency number.
Does first degree always require an injury?
No. Section 240.60 also contains prior-second-degree-conviction and school/public-location hazard alternatives. Each has its own requirements.
Does the prior-second-degree alternative have a ten-year limit?
Section 240.60(1) does not state one. Obtain the actual disposition and review the statutory language; do not import another offense’s time limit.
Can emergency-response costs be sought as restitution?
They may be within 60.27(13) when its conditions apply. Counsel should examine the claimed expenses and lawful basis rather than assume the billed amount is conclusive.
What should I preserve first?
Keep the report, its source, complete calls or messages, account information, court papers and next deadline. Ask counsel about secure preservation and transfer.
Request a consultation. Contact does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. References checked October 7, 2026.