Personal rights: false reports to law enforcement.

Existing law makes certain publications and communications privileged and therefore protected from civil action, including certain communications in a legislative proceeding, judicial proceeding, any other official proceeding authorized by law, or in the initiation or course of any other proceeding authorized by law and reviewable pursuant to a writ of mandate, subject to certain exceptions. These exceptions include any communication made in a judicial proceeding knowingly concealing the existence of an insurance policy or policies. This bill would create an additional exception to the privilege provisions for any communication between a person and a law enforcement agency in which the person knowingly or recklessly makes a false report that another person has committed, or is in the act of committing, a criminal act or is engaged in an activity requiring law enforcement intervention. Existing law, the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property because of political affiliation, or on account of position in a labor dispute, or sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status, or because another person perceives them to have one or more of those characteristics. Existing law provides civil remedies for violations of those provisions. This bill would specify that intimidation by threat of violence includes knowingly or recklessly making or threatening to make a false claim or report to a peace officer or law enforcement agency alleging that another person has engaged in unlawful activity or in an activity that requires law enforcement intervention.