OFFICIALS have a new hi-tech weapon to tackle TV licence fee dodgers.
Officers from TV Licensing are taking to the streets with hand-held detectors.
These will allow them to home in on houses where TVs are being watched without licences.
If a signal is picked up the officials can consult a database of 28m addresses to see if there is a licence for the property.
The hand-held devices are the size of a torch and are being used together with detector vans to target addresses where people have persistently ignored contact from TV Licensing.
The new devices weigh just 280 grams and measure only 215 millimetres. They can be used 3,000 times before the battery needs replacing.
From January to June this year, 900 licence dodgers were caught in Huddersfield.
Meanwhile, a survey shows that 44% of people would be less likely to commit an offence if they knew better detection technology was in place.
A TV Licensing spokeswoman said: “Anyone watching TV without a licence can expect a visit.”
Anyone caught watching TV without a licence can be fined up to £1,000, plus the cost of a licence, which is £135.50 for a colour TV.
