Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation that criminalizes making false, race-based 911 calls to police.

The legislation amends a current law to include false incrimination and filing a false police report as a form of bias intimidation. It also establishes the crime of false 911 calls with the purpose to intimidate or harass a person based on their race or protected class.

“Using the threat of a 911 call or police report as an intimidation tactic against people of color is an unacceptable, abhorrent form of discrimination,” Murphy said in a statement. “This irresponsible misuse of our 911 system places victims in a potentially dangerous situation, and can erode trust between Black and brown New Jerseyans and law enforcement.”

The legislation comes after several high-profile cases of police being called on people of color following a disagreement between the two parties.

Police were recently called on a Black couple in Montclair after the couple and their white neighbor got into a dispute over home improvements that couple was doing. The neighbor told police that her she was assaulted during the argument, but witnesses say that this was false.

Montclair police referred to the incident as a neighbor dispute.