Should people be charged for calling 911 without cause?

Jamie BallardData Journalist
May 30, 2018, 5:30 PM GMT+0

76% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans agreed that anyone who calls 911 on non-criminal activity should be charged with filing a false police report.

There have recently been several high-profile incidents of 911 calls being made against black people who were committing no crime, including cases in coffee shops, on college campuses and in community parks. New data from YouGov shows that more than two-thirds of Americans (66%), regardless of age, political affiliation, gender, and income level, said that the people who made these 911 calls should be charged with filing a false police report.


Democrats were more likely (76%) than any other political group to say that these callers should be charged with filing a false report, compared to 57% of Republicans, and 61% of Independent voters.

Millennials between 18 and 24 were the least likely to have a clear answer to the question. More than a quarter (26%) answered “Other/not sure” when asked if these callers should be charged. A majority (59%) responded that they should be charged.


Women (68%) were slightly more likely than men (63%) to say that callers should be charged with filing a false report. Nearly one-fifth of male respondents (17%) said that the callers should not be charged.

The demographic most likely to say these callers should not be charged with filing a false report were people with a yearly income level of $80K or higher, 18% of whom chose that response. But a large majority of people in this demographic (63%) said that the callers should be charged, while 19 percent were unsure.

Image: Getty

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