Georgia Criminal Defense Blog

How to Avoid Being Falsely Accused of a Crime

Posted by Richard Lawson | May 16, 2018 | 0 Comments

I have written extensively about how anyone can be accused of a crime, whether the accusation is false or based on a real violation of the law. Some criminal offenses can be committed entirely unintentionally, such as the violation of Georgia’s traffic laws, or crimes of general intent or recklessness.

There are ways to avoid being falsely accused of a crime. I truly hope this helps someone.

10 Ways to Avoid Being Falsely Accused of a Crime:

  1. If there is any question about your responsibility for any crime, get your witnesses together at the very moment you could potentially be accused of that crime. Once they are gone, it is virtually impossible to find them.
  2. Stay on the scene until the police arrive. The reality is that if you're not there at the scene, the police will only hear the side of the story of the people that remain. Usually, those people are your accusers
  3. Never speak to police if they are interrogating you. Once it gets to the point where a police officer is accusing you, they have already assumed your guilt. There is nothing you can say to a police officer to disabuse him or her of their opinion.
  4. Always contact a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney to ask any and all questions you may have. Most Georgia Criminal Justice Attorneys will not even charge you for a short call. There is no reason to go it alone.
  5. Keep your financial documents in order. Fraud Crimes in Georgia are on the rise and are the easiest for which to be falsely accused. Relying on online records can be a problem when they cannot be found, or when a website crashes.
  6. Never lose your cool at the scene of the crime or if an allegation comes your way. The person who remains calm has a better chance of being heard and believed.
  7. Always be respectful and courteous to police. Any disrespect may result in more charges such as an obstruction charge in Georgia. It's important to know that police tend to decide what happened in the first three minutes of arriving on the scene.
  8. As scripture says: “Turn the other cheek.” Remain willing to walk away from petty arguments and those who are disrespectful towards you. If you participate in petty disputes, you could be putting yourself at risk for an arrest for disorderly conduct in Georgia.
  9. Be aware of human nature. The truth is people can get upset and falsely accuse you if you are near where something has gone wrong. It is human nature to seek retribution, whether fairly focused or not. Always stay calm and assess the situation.
  10. Record a detailed summary of what occurred the moment you get home, so you can remember what happened, in detail. People can live through an event and have an utterly disjointed memory of what happened. This is why police fill out police reports - those memories are recorded on the very same day. If you are later in a legal dispute, having the incident memorialized will help your Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer defend you to the best of their ability.


The point of this post is to let people know that bad and unfair things can happen to anyone. With this in mind, please take precautions to help avoid being falsely accused of a crime. Take care everyone.

About the Author

Richard Lawson

Managing Partner at Lawson & Berry:

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