Can I be charged for calling the police in Germany and then realising it’s not an emergency afterwards?

Question

I am often home alone and live on the ground floor. I sleep on the second floor and sometimes I hear noises downstairs. Someone has once tried to break in. I would call 110 but I’m scared that if it’s a false alarm that they would send me to prison or charge me. Especially if it’s a lot of genuine false alarms. Can they charge me?

Answer 1

I’m scared that if it’s a false alarm that they would send my to prison or charge me.

Not for §145 Stgb. Here intent is important.

§145 - Misuse of emergency numbers and... StGB (German Criminal Code)

(1) Whoever intentionally or knowingly

• 1. improperly uses emergency numbers or distress signals or
• 2. pretends that the assistance of other persons is required due to an accident or a common danger or emergency

incurs a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine.

...

Answer 2

Not if you just stick to the facts.

You're concerned about the police showing up and nothing being there, right?

Well, you can't order the police there. You just give them information, and they decide whether to act based on it. If you're open about your suspicions being suspicions, don't dramatize what you hear /see / know, there is nothing that can be held against you.

With repeated false alerts: They will be annoyed. They will probably start to "ignore you" (as in, change their considerations when to show up). They may warn you that you're getting into too-much territory. But before such a warning everything is fine (as long as you don't lie to get them to come out, with them having to prove that you were lying).

That being said: Police aren't private security. This also means their response times for non-emergencies aren't that great, especially at night. I'd recommend investing in (or checking your current state of) your doors and windows. Even semi-modern doors and windows can't be broken into without a lot of noise. The kind of noise that won't be confused with the creaking of a house. The advantage of this approach is that a) it may be free (if your stuff is up-to-date) but more importantly b) it will give you a peace of mind and lessen the stress response to noises in the house.[Note that b) only applies once you emotionally internalize the facts, which isn't immediate and doesn't necessarily happen automatically]