Robbery claims made up

TWO men have been reprimanded by police for wasting their time in a crackdown on bogus crime reporting.

A 24-year-old man was handed a fixed penalty for falsely reporting that he had been robbed.

Mark Wilson, of Lowgreave, admitted leading officers on a wild goose chase when he told them that he had been attacked in January by two men, one of whom punched him in the face while the other took money from his pocket.

A second man has been cautioned after telling police that he too had been robbed earlier this year.

Wayne Hamilton (29) from Masbrough admitted lying about making up the incident in which his wallet and mobile phone had been stolen from him in the street.

He said that two men had approached him on James Street, Rotherham, asking him for a cigarette before demanding his money and phone.

Acting Det Insp Dave Turner said: “Any report of robbery is a serious matter and will be investigated thoroughly as we know these are the type of offences which affect public confidence and can increase fear of crime.

“These two cases show that where a false report is made we will take the matter seriously and investigate every line of enquiry.”

He added: “Both cases removed officers from dealing with genuine victims of crime, and one involved the ambulance service being called again falsely increasing demand on emergency services.”

Officers believe that both men made their false reports in order to obtain replacement cash and property from insurance companies.

“Unfortunately for them, the net result was arrest for wasting police time, several hours spent in custody and a criminal record,” said Det Insp Turner.

“On reflection both made a mistake and I would urge anybody tempted into false reporting for similar motives to think again.”

Victims of genuine robberies are encouraged to contact police using non-emergency number 101.

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