Radio & Telegraphy Act - Police lasers/radars
Discussion
This was posted up in response to www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=QPTDTLQTFGWPPQFIQMFSM5OAVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2004/06/03/ncam03.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/06/03/ixportal.html
about the man prosecute for warning of the police 'speedtrap'
Interesting input into what I believe to have been an offence against the Radio and Telegraphy Act. If the Police were using hand held detectors, which use emergancy radio frequencies and therefore illegal to monitor, any action taken by an individual (whether driving or not) with specific knowledge could be classed as interfering with the duties of the emergancy services. The individual concerned, having been found guilty of such an offence would then be given a sentence relevent to the offence. This was one of the reasons that radar detectors were borderline illegal until recently, as when they activate you would be acting on knowledge gained by monitoring restricted radio bands. I know this because I had to challenge this for alleged speeding offence! Enjoy.
Any comment from people more informed than I am?
about the man prosecute for warning of the police 'speedtrap'
Interesting input into what I believe to have been an offence against the Radio and Telegraphy Act. If the Police were using hand held detectors, which use emergancy radio frequencies and therefore illegal to monitor, any action taken by an individual (whether driving or not) with specific knowledge could be classed as interfering with the duties of the emergancy services. The individual concerned, having been found guilty of such an offence would then be given a sentence relevent to the offence. This was one of the reasons that radar detectors were borderline illegal until recently, as when they activate you would be acting on knowledge gained by monitoring restricted radio bands. I know this because I had to challenge this for alleged speeding offence! Enjoy.
Any comment from people more informed than I am?
The devices don't use emergency frequencies, they use radar frequencies. If they used Emergency frequencies they would dissrupt the officers' radios, a very undesireable consequence.
The Radio & Telegraphy act states that it is illegal to intercept the data being transmitted, but since there is no data being transmitted, just a pulse, this is not a problem. Also, the detector doesn't try to interpret or intercept any info in the "pulse," it just detects that there was a pulse.
Tim
The Radio & Telegraphy act states that it is illegal to intercept the data being transmitted, but since there is no data being transmitted, just a pulse, this is not a problem. Also, the detector doesn't try to interpret or intercept any info in the "pulse," it just detects that there was a pulse.
Tim
edc said:
This was posted up in response to www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=QPTDTLQTFGWPPQFIQMFSM5OAVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2004/06/03/ncam03.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/06/03/ixportal.html
about the man prosecute for warning of the police 'speedtrap'
Interesting input into what I believe to have been an offence against the Radio and Telegraphy Act. If the Police were using hand held detectors, which use emergancy radio frequencies and therefore illegal to monitor, any action taken by an individual (whether driving or not) with specific knowledge could be classed as interfering with the duties of the emergancy services. The individual concerned, having been found guilty of such an offence would then be given a sentence relevent to the offence. This was one of the reasons that radar detectors were borderline illegal until recently, as when they activate you would be acting on knowledge gained by monitoring restricted radio bands. I know this because I had to challenge this for alleged speeding offence! Enjoy.
Any comment from people more informed than I am?
The High Court judge ruled that radar detectors were "not intercepting a message within the meaning of the Act". So a radar beam is not a message under the Act, presumably since it is just radio waves that contain no message.
Re: wireless telegraghy act, To receive ANY message or transmission is NOT an offence. To make use of it, or pass it on to a 3rd person is! However, as has already been said: if the transmission contains NO message then what is the problem? This is where any prosecution I think fell down. Ask any Radio Amateur, It is clearly laid out in his licence.
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