Some offences are considered to be crimes against ‘justice’ itself. Justice includes the courts, the legal system and the police. They include:
- bribery
- contempt of court
- making false statements
- perjury.
These offences are taken very seriously by the courts and carry heavy penalties, including imprisonment. Get legal advice.
Bribery
In relation to crimes against justice, bribery is offering a public official (such as a police officer) money or other favours to get them to act in your interests.
Bribery of a public official carries a penalty of up to 10 years jail.
Contempt of court
A magistrate can hold you in contempt of court if they think you’re ignoring or challenging the court’s authority or a direction of a court. For example:
- interrupting a court hearing
- refusing to come to court or to answer questions if you are called as a witness.
Penalties for contempt vary depending on the circumstances but can include fines and/or jail.
False statements
The law requires you to tell the truth when you are:
- giving evidence in court
- swearing an affidavit
- making a statutory declaration
- reporting a crime.
If you don’t tell the truth in these situations, you may be committing an offence. The offences you could be charged with include:
- perjury (deliberately giving false evidence in a court or tribunal)
- making a false statement
- making a false report to police.
Other support
Find out how you can get other support for criminal offences.
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