Justice written question – answered at on 26 October 2010.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) men and (b) women whose last known address was in (i) Kettering borough, (ii) Northamptonshire and (iii) England and Wales were (A) prosecuted, (B) convicted and (C) given a custodial sentence for offences related to non-payment of their television licence fee.
The number of males and females proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts in the Kettering Local Justice Area, the Northamptonshire police force area and England and Wales in 2009 (latest available) for offences under section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 can be viewed in the table.
Figures are for the court in which a defendant was proceeded against as data held on the Court Proceedings Database held by the Ministry of Justice do not identify a defendant's address.
A person cannot be sentenced to a custodial sentence if convicted of an offence under section 363 of the Communications Act 2003. The maximum penalty for not having a valid TV Licence is a £1,000 fine. The court may also order the convicted person to pay for TV Licensing's costs in the proceedings. A person could be sentenced to immediate custody if they refused to pay the fine but not for TV licence evasion.
Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for television licence evasion( 1) , by sex, Kettering Local Justice Area, Northamptonshire police force area and England and Wales, 2009( 2,3) | ||
Area | Proceeded against | Found guilty |
England and Wales | ||
Males | 54,706 | 47,398 |
Females | 111,778 | 101,099 |
Persons(4) | 166,834 | 148,780 |
Of which: | ||
Northamptonshire police force area | ||
Males | 617 | 543 |
Females | 1,205 | 1,120 |
Persons(4) | 1,823 | 1,663 |
Of which: | ||
Kettering Local Justice Area | ||
Males | 81 | 73 |
Females | 119 | 113 |
Persons(4) | 200 | 186 |
(1) Includes offences under the Communications Act 2003, section 363. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Following the introduction of the Libra case management system during 2008, offenders at magistrates courts can now be recorded as sex 'Not stated'. These data have been included in the persons only totals. Therefore, the males and females age group totals and sub-totals may not agree with the totals given under persons. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. |
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