JOE Beardsworth (Letters, February 20) states that 'people are jailed for not having a (television) licence.' This is not the case: people cannot be imprisoned for non-payment of the TV licence fee.
Prison sentences are imposed by magistrates after non-payment of fines and this is a matter strictly for the courts.
Mr Beardsworth also claims that '80 per cent of those prosecuted are women. Again, this is not the case.
The distribution of television licence evaders is spread equally across both gender and socio-economic groups and our enforcement and prosecution operation reflects this.
Prison is always seen as a last resort, as shown by figures from the Home Office. For the 2000/01 financial year, there were only 24 custodial sentences imposed -- representing a 70 per cent drop in the number of convictions over the previous three years.
VANESSA WOOD, Press Office, TV Licensing, Kingsway, London WC2.
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