TV Detection

At the heart of TV Licensing's detection system is their massive database of licensed addresses. TV Licensing receive information for this database from TV dealers, the Post Office and licence holders. Any property that doesn't have a licence will be subject to further investigations to find out why.

From my previous post about TV Licensing Correspondence you'll see that their initial approach is to send reminder letters to the unlicensed address. These reminder letters are often offensive, patronising and accusative in tone.

Little wonder then that many genuine non-TV users are making a stand against TV Licensing intimidation by being as uncooperative as possible with their incessant requests for information.

Enforcement officer visits:
Non-TV users are under no obligation to respond to TV Licensing's correspondence, but if they don't they eventually run the risk of having an Enforcement Officer visit their property.

Remember that unless the Enforcement Officer has a search warrant, which they almost certainly won't on an initial visit, the occupant is under no legal obligation to let them in. They should simply keep quiet and close the door.

Enforcement Officers are cheap - they're paid a pittance and work on a commission basis, which explains why some of them try almost anything, legal or otherwise, to drum up licence sales and prosecutions.

Most search warrants come as the result of an Enforcement Officer seeing or hearing television equipment in use or the occupier admitting they are using such equipment.

TV detection equipment:
TV Licensing also have detection equipment (detector vans and portable units) that they can use to gather evidence on target properties. The exact number and nature of these units is shrouded in secrecy, but if you believe the word of the BBC:

• The equipment in detector vans takes as little as 20 seconds to work and has a range of up to 60 metres. It is able to distinguish between two television sets either side of a party wall.
  
• The vehicles use GPS technology to identify target addresses.
  
• A new type (2003 model) detector van costs £108,474.59.
• A new portable unit costs around £600.
• The latest portable detection equipment has a range of up to 20 metres.
  
• The van based detection equipment is developed internally by BBC Research and Development and manufactured/installed by dB Broadcast.
• The latest portable detection equipment was developed solely by the BBC.
  
• Detection technology is generally used to obtain search warrants after Enforcement Officer visits have proved unsuccessful.
• Detection equipment relies on the television equipment being in use at the time of the visit.

Just as interesting are the questions that the BBC refused to answer:

• The total number of detector vans and the number operating on an average day.
• The number of court cases where the use of detection equipment has resulted in a conviction.
• The number of search warrants obtained on the basis of detection equipment evidence.

Those answers (and non-answers) provided by the BBC suggest that the use of detection equipment isn't very widespread and is reserved for cases where conventional detection (Enforcement Officer eyes and ears) has failed to obtain evidence of wrongdoing. The fact that detection equipment is normally used to obtain search warrants also suggests that evidence of the equipment alone is insufficient to secure a conviction.

TV Licensing are also known to use detection vans for deterrent purposes in licence evasion black spots.

Related posts:
TV Licensing Rights of Access