Peter Charles McLean made a triple zero call claiming to be his "wife" and with a report their four "daughters" were missing.

The name he used when he made the call was that of "Helen Banks" and that police assistance was needed at a unit in Olive Street, South Albury.

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Police had previously registered a number of calls from the same phone number, which belonged to McLean.

McLean, as the fictitious Banks, claimed to be at an address - on October 2 just before 9.30pm - in the Wagga suburb of Ashmont.

As a result of the call, a request was made to Wagga police to attend the Adams Street address, which they did an hour later.

No one was home.

It was, Albury Local Court magistrate Richard Funston told McLean on jailing him for four months, a colossal waste of police resources.

"He's had numerous jail offences for all this type of offending," Mr Funston told defence lawyer Tim Hemsley, who had submitted that the threshold for a jail sentence had not been crossed.

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Mr Hemsley said it was plain from the police facts that McLean "has a long-running delusion about Helen Banks".

"No, she doesn't exist, just in his mind," he said.

Mr Hemsley said while police took all necessary steps to properly investigate the false report, the truth behind the incident quickly became apparent.

He also noted McLean's mental health issues.

But prosecutor Sergeant Nicole Peacock said jail was the only option given that McLean, 54, had served jail terms for similar crimes.

He had also been under supervision as part of an intensive corrections order, but even that, she said, had not stopped him.

"He hasn't learnt from his previous offending."

Mr Funston agreed, telling McLean - who pleaded guilty to making a false report resulting in a police investigation - that full-time custody was the only sentencing option.

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