More than £100,000 Worth of Electronic Devices Stolen from BBC

In the last three years more than £100,000 worth of electronic devices were stolen from the BBC.

That's according to information disclosed by the BBC to the TV Licensing Blog in response to a freedom of information request (BBC ref: 20210559).

We asked the national broadcaster to confirm the number of mobile phones, laptop computers, tablet computers, digital cameras and digital camcorders lost or stolen since the 1st January 2018. We also asked for the cumulative value of those items.

In its response, the BBC confirmed that the following items, bought with hard pressed TV licence payer's cash, had been stolen:

2018:

• Mobile phones - 23 items stolen - total value £5,750
• Computer - 1 item stolen - total value £700
• Laptop computers - 33 items stolen - total value £29,451
• Camera equipment - 16 items stolen - total value £38,895

2019:

• Mobile phones - 19 items stolen - total value £3,800
• Laptop computers - 13 items stolen - total value £8,050

2020:

• Mobile phones - 16 items stolen - total value £4,000
• Laptop computers - 6 items stolen - total value £6,750
• Camera equipment - 4 items stolen - total value £2,440

2021 (to 5th April, the date of our request): 

• Laptop computer - 1 item - total value £2,000

Given previous form, we can be entirely confident that the BBC has disclosed the bare minimum of information it thinks it can get away with.

The BBC, quite worryingly, was unable to confirm how many similar items were lost over the last 3 years, because it does not maintain a central record. Instead the information is scattered across its multiple different departments and locations, but you get the distinct impression that the BBC has a pretty poor handle on the situation.

It is safe to assume that the value of lost devices - those left in public toilets and trains by incompetent BBC employees - will well exceed the £101,836 total value of the stolen items.

The BBC, which rarely acknowledges any fault on its part, has asked us to publish the following statement: "The BBC takes incidents of theft very seriously. We constantly review our security policies, to ensure they are as robust as possible."

In our opinion, these figures are a further illustration of the BBC's arrogant disregard for the security of public funds and property.

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