Ofcom: Radio regulation enforcement
Since Ofcom was created in December 2003 there seems to have been a decrease in the amount of enforcement action for breaches of the radio spectrum regulations

Page 12 of the October 1985 edition of the UK's Ham Radio Today magazine shows the high level of prosecutions that used to take place when communications regulation was carried out by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

In 1984 there were 1281 convictions relating to the illegal use of Wireless Telegraphy equipment and just the first three months of 1985 showed 242 convictions, see
https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-D ... 985-10.pdf

In 2010 Ofcom stopped the annual publication of their Prosecution/Formal Warning Statistics and removed the historic prosecution statistics from their website. This action made it harder to determine if Ofcom were still carrying out any radio spectrum enforcement action.

You can still see some of the historic prosecution figures in the Internet Archive at
https://web.archive.org/web/20100608131 ... nt/pstats/

Heya Mark.

I had a good look around the web to see if anything showed up as regards figures etc. for prosecutions, but as you mentioned above, there's nothing up to date (that I could find).

Reading around the OFCOM site you get the feeling that:
a) unless there is a mass of evidence against an offender, and unless there is a 100% chance (in their opinion) that any prosecution will be successful, then nothing will happen.
b) ongoing 'open' cases seem mainly (only?) to relate to telephone companies, and making sure they do not 'stiff' their customers.

You mentioned the DTI, but even earlier in time I think the GPO used to keep an eye on things. One of the guys I used to work with was arrested and fined three times for running MW and or SW pirate radio, at the time of the last conviction he was told to either obtain an Amateur license and "do things properly", or he would find himself in jail!

My RAE tutor many years ago told us about how he had been 'paid a visit' by the GPO, investigating his possible illegal use of Morse Code. At the time it was an offense to use Morse on air unless you had taken a GPO Morse test, and unknown to him his neighbours had heard him and reported him to the GPO.

The good old days!

73, Mark...