Information on the number of persons per 10,000 of the population proceeded against for television licence evasion in England and Wales from 2005 to 2007 (latest available), broken down by region is in the following table. Information data held by the Ministry of Justice only cover England and Wales.
The statistics 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, the principal offence 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.
2005 2006 2007 Region Proceeded against Proceedings per 10,000 of the population Proceeded against Proceedings per 10,000 of the population Proceeded against Proceedings per 10,000 of the population East of England 5,040 9 9,642 17 9,152 16 East Midlands 8,904 21 9,221 21 10,537 24 London 23,508 32 19,219 26 22,780 30 North East 5,820 23 9,407 37 8,455 33 North West 28,159 41 27,148 40 26,662 39 South East 8,707 11 8,802 11 9,786 12 South West 7,095 14 7,615 15 8,137 16 Wales 8,576 29 10,460 35 10,073 34 West Midlands 12,041 23 14,233 27 15,154 28 Yorkshire and Humberside 15,073 30 14,272 28 14,871 29 England and Wales 122,923 23 130,019 24 135,607 25 1 The statistics 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, the principal offence 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. 2 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. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit, Office for Criminal Justice Reform.