TV licence -The Jersey, Guernsey and The Isle of Man File

ENFORCEMENT

Enforcement in Jersey is initiated by the TV Licence officers, who pass information onto the Jersey Police who then conduct their own investigation.  In the Isle of Man, a solicitor carries out a vast majority of the TV licence prosecutions– the Constabulary has no part in the process. The BBC instigates the prosecution and the Communications Commission here receives a portion of the fine. TV Licensing Inspectors visit Guernsey once every three to four years. Offences are usually reported following these visits.

FINE

The maximum fine in Jersey is £500, whereas the maximum fine in the Isle of Man is £1,000 and £2,000 in Guernsey.

The average fine awarded in Jersey is £70 (smallest average fine in the whole of the UK). In Guernsey, the average fine is £185. In the Isle of Man, the median Fine was £150 until 2013. In 2015 it has been £200, though a quarter of the 2015 convictions so far have been for £300. In comparison, the average fine in England is £170.

PROSECUTION

Records, back to 2008, showed that 41 cases were investigated in Jersey: 33 cases were resolved at Parish Hall Enquiry, leaving 8 cases which were prosecuted in the Magistrate’s Court.  In Guernsey, there were 27 reported cases since 2008, but the outcome of the cases of 2010 is unclear. There were 451 cases brought to courts in the Isle of Man since 2001. If only 15 people were prosecuted last year, 145 cases were open in the last 8 months, highlighting a great variation, year on year.

CONVICTION / FAILURE RATE

Since 2 out of 8 people prosecuted in Jersey since 2008 were found not guilty, this means a 25% failure rate on a par with Northern Ireland. In the Isle of Man, 93 people out of 451 were found not guilty since 2004. This means a 20.6% failure rate. Ignoring the cases of 2010 in Guernsey, it can be said that 2 of the 19 prosecuted in 2013 were found not guilty. The failure rate is therefore 10.5%. To put these numbers in perspective, England has a 12.4% failure rate. Large numbers of ‘unsuccessful’ prosecutions lends weight to the view that cases are initiated on a speculative basis where it is hoped by the BBC that people will plead guilty or won’t contest the prosecution. This surely is a scandalous abuse of the courts’ process by the BBC.

Interestingly, some people have been prosecuted more than once in the Isle of Man: one person 4 times, six people 3 times each, 21 people twice each, showing perhaps that criminal fines have a lack of deterrent effect.

Recorded TV Licence offence incidents in Jersey
Year	Proceeded against	Found Guilty	Unsuccessful
2008	5	3	2
2009	3	1 fined 1 arrest ordered 1 bound order

Recorded TV Licence offence incidents in Guernsey since 2008
Year	Proceeded against	Found Guilty	Unsuccessful
2008	0	0	0
2009	0	0	0
2010	8 reported cases	unknown	unknown
2011	0	0	0
2012	0	0	0
2013	19 prosecution	17 fined	2
2014	0	0	0
2015	0	0	0

Recorded TV Licence offence incidents in the Isle of Man
Year	Proceeded against	Found Guilty	Unsuccessful
2001	1	1	–
2004	39	23	16
2005	60	53	7
2006	35	32	3
2007	21	17	4
2008	19	16	3
2009	5	5	–
2010	32	27	5
2013	78	62	16
2014	15	9	6

RATIO MEN/WOMEN

It’s interesting to note that only 48% of the people having been investigated for TV licence offences in Jersey since 2008 are female (20 out of 41). This is a complete departure from the rest of the UK. Perhaps the BBC should investigate what they do right. In Guernsey, women account for 68% of all prosecutions. In the Isle of Man, women account for 62% of prosecutions and around two-thirds of the convictions.

PRISON

No one has been jailed in Jersey for fine default in relation to TV licence offences since at least 2008, which shows a great dose of common sense and progressive thinking. In the Isle of Man, when there is a failure to pay the fine they may be imprisoned for a period in lieu of the fine. However, their “non-payment of fines” is not sophisticated enough to ascertain whether a fine for non-payment of a TV licence ends up in a non-payment of fine and therefore a prison sentence.  As far as the Communications Manager for Law Enforcement in Guernsey could tell, no one has gone to prison for not paying their fine.

DETAILS

Jersey

Recorded TV Licence offence incidents in Jersey
Year	Sex	Age	Investigated by the police?	Prosecuted?	Result / Sanction
2008	Female	34	yes	yes	Fine £100
2008	Female	57	yes	yes	Fine £80
2008	Male	26	yes	–	No further action taken
2008	Male	25	yes	–	Written caution
2008	Male	22	yes	yes	Case dismissed (No evidence offered)
2008	Male	53	yes	–	Written caution
2008	Female	50	yes	–	Written caution
2008	Female	19	yes	–	No further action taken
2008	Female	48	yes	yes	Fine £50
2008	Female	21	yes	yes	Case dismissed (No evidence offered)
2009	Female	27	yes	yes	Fine £50
2009	Male	38	yes	–	Written caution
2009	Male	31	yes	–	Written caution
2009	Male	30	yes	–	No further action taken
2009	Female	41	yes	–	Written caution
2009	Female	35	yes	–	Written caution
2009	Female	22	yes	yes	Arrest ordered
2009	Male	38	yes	yes	Bound order
2009	Male	26	yes	–	No further action taken
2009	Female	46	yes	–	No further action taken
2009	Male	22	yes	–	No further action taken
2009	Female	36	yes	–	No further action taken
2009	Male	48	yes	–	Written caution
2009	Female	44	yes	–	Written caution
2009	Male	50	yes	–	Written caution
2009	Female	30	yes	–	Written caution
2009	Male	36	yes	–	No further action taken
2013	Male	31	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Female	19	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Male	46	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Female	26	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Female	63	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Male	40	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Female	45	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Male	59	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Male	42	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Male	52	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Female	27	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Female	21	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Male	29	yes	–	Written caution
2013	Male	28	yes	–	Written caution

Guernsey

Recorded TV Licence offence incidents in Guernsey
Year	Sex	Investigated by the police?	Prosecuted?	Result / Sanction
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £80
2013	Male	yes	yes	Fine £250
2013	Female	yes	yes	case dismissed (no evidence offered)
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £150
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £150
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £250
2013	Male	yes	yes	Fine £300
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £250
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £100
2013	Male	yes	yes	Fine £150
2013	Male	yes	yes	Fine £150
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £150
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £200
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £250
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £150
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £200
2013	Male	yes	yes	Fine £150
2013	Female	yes	yes	Fine £200
2013	Male	yes	yes	case dismissed (no evidence offered)

Isle of Man

Recorded TV Licence offence incidents in the Isle of Man
Year	Male			Female			Total
	Prosecuted	Convicted*	unsuccessful	Prosecuted	Convicted*	unsuccessful
2001	1	1	–	–	–	–	1
2002	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2003	–	–	–	1	1	–	1
2004	14	6	8	25	17	8	39
2005	17	13	4	43	40	3	60
2006	12	12	–	23	20	3	35
2007	8	8	–	13	9	4	21
2008	6	6	–	13	10	3	19
2009	2	2	–	3	3	–	5
2010	10	9	1	22	18	4	32
2011	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2012	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2013	34	25	9	44	37	7	78
2014	9	5	4	6	4	2	15
2015	30	16	14	52	33	19	82
Pending	28			35			63
Total	171	103	40	280	192	53	451

* Convictions includes fines and conditional discharges

Suspected TV licence Evaders from the Isle of Man 2001-2015
Age Range	Male	Female	Total
<20	6	5	11
20-30	51	136	187
30-40	47	71	118
40-50	43	48	91
50-60	16	11	27
60+	8	9	17
Grand Total	171	280	451

These findings are backed by the following Freedom of Information requests:

FOI 202-03-79460 States of Jersey

Data for Isle of Man has been provided by Information Security, Data Protection and Management of Police Information, Douglas Police Headquarters.

Data for Guernsey has been provided by Communications Manager for Law Enforcement, Guernsey Police Headquarters.

FOI 98525, FOI 97719, FOI 97268 and FOI 98986 Ministry of Justice for England and Wales.