BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

The episode of The Bill sub-titled "Lockdown" investigated a killing in a prison where

the guards could have had some culpability. This episode of a police drama, rated

PGR, was broadcast at 7.40pm on TV One on Saturday 19 October 1996.

Mr Wilkinson complained to Television New Zealand Ltd that as the episode contained

a graphic scene of blood-letting in a prison, it should not have been broadcast until

much later in the evening.

Arguing that violence was implied rather than depicted during The Bill, TVNZ

maintained that the episode was not inappropriate for a child to watch under the

guidance of an adult. It declined to uphold the complaint.

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's decision, Mr Wilkinson referred the complaint to the

Broadcasting Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

For the reasons below, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.

Decision

The members of the Authority have viewed the item complained about and have read the

correspondence (summarised in the Appendix). As is its practice, the Authority

determines the complaint without a formal hearing.

The Bill is a police drama set in London which has been screening in New Zealand for

some years. The episode broadcast on 19 October 1996, entitled "Lockdown",

involved the investigation of a murder of a prison inmate and the possible involvement

of some prison warders.

Mr Wilkinson complained to TVNZ that the programme was inappropriately classified

as PGR given "its fearsome and graphic scene of blood-letting in a prison cell".

TVNZ assessed the complaint under standards G12 and V1 of the Television Code of

Broadcasting Practice. The former requires broadcasters:

G12 To be mindful of the effect any programme may have on children during

their normally accepted viewing times.

The other one reads:

V1  Broadcasters have a responsibility to ensure that any violence shown is

justifiable, ie is essential in the context of the programme.

It also referred to the definition of PGR which provides:

PGR

Programmes containing material more suited to adult audiences but not

necessarily unsuitable for child viewers when subject to the guidance of a

parent or adult.

Pointing to the wording of the PGR definition, TVNZ considered that the programme

complied with the requirements. Referring specifically to the aspect of the complaint

which expressed concern at the degree of violence portrayed, TVNZ maintained that the

violence was implied rather than depicted. TVNZ argued that the PGR classification,

and the time of screening, were appropriate.

On the basis that the programme was not unsuitable for children, subject to adult

supervision, and that it contained minimal overt violence, TVNZ declined to uphold the

complaint.

When he referred the complaint to the Authority, Mr Wilkinson stressed what he

considered to be the inappropriate time at which The Bill was screened. Younger

children, he contended, would have their innocence destroyed by such programmes.

Further, he was not satisfied with TVNZ's definition of the word "violence",

describing it as "lamentably narrow".

The Authority notes that The Bill is a long-running series which follows a well-known

pattern. It can be regarded as a police drama in a modern idiom where the police

officers are required to consider moral issues as they deal with the behaviour which is

brought to their attention. In the episode complained about, although the vicious attack

was not seen, during the episode the officers were required to deal with its

consequences.

Taking into account the lack of explicit violence shown, and the reality of the issues

with which the police officers were required to deal, the Authority does not contest the

PGR classification. "Lockdown" was a programme which contained material more

suited for an adult audience. Nevertheless, given the time at which it was shown,

7.30pm, it could well be seen by many younger viewers. The Authority considers

satisfactory the PGR classification which indicates the desirability of parental guidance.

For the reasons above, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Judith Potter
Chairperson
23 January 1997

Appendix

Mr Wilkinson's Complaint to Television New Zealand Ltd - October

1996

Dennis Wilkinson of Oxford, Canterbury, complained to Television New Zealand Ltd

about the episode of The Bill, entitled "Lockdown", broadcast at 7.40pm on 19 October

1996. He wrote:

In my view this programme, with its fearsome and graphic scene of blood-letting

in a prison cell, should not have been broadcast until much later in the evening.

On the basis that the programme would have been frightening to children, Mr

Wilkinson considered that the programme's PGR rating was inappropriate.

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 7 November 1996

Assessing the complaint under standards V1 and G12 of the Television Code of

Broadcasting Practice, TVNZ advised that the episode of the police drama complained

about investigated a killing in a prison when the guards could have had some

responsibility.

Explaining the requirements for the PGR rating carried by the programme, TVNZ

accepted that the programme was more suited to adult audiences but, it maintained, it

was not unsuitable for children watching under the guidance of an adult.

TVNZ explained that The Bill was a long established police drama where murder and

intrigue were not infrequent. Moreover, it continued:

The Bill implies a lot more violence than is actually depicted. In this case the

murder victim is not shown other than as a dim, out of focus shadow over the

shoulders of the police who are examining the scene. The horror of the occasion

is reflected by the reaction of the police and by such lines of dialogue as "it's not a

pretty sight".

The other scene in which violence is implied shows an injured and bleeding man

lying on the floor of his cell. Again the violence that led to the injury is not

shown, nor are close-ups of the injuries. The shot is extremely brief.

Denying that the programme contained any scene which could be described as

"fearsome or graphic", TVNZ maintained that the programme was appropriately rated

as PGR. It observed:

TVNZ has a genuine concern that we would do our viewers little service if we

were to fill the early evening prime time with material which offers no intellectual

stimulation to adults or children. The Bill sets out tantalising crime scenarios,

prompting the viewer to try to identify the villain before he or she is revealed in

the plot.

As the programme did not contain violence, only its aftermath, TVNZ said that standard

V1 was not contravened. As it did not believe that the programme would be harmful to

children under the guidance of adults, TVNZ did not accept that standard G12 was

breached.

Mr Wilkinson's Referral to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - 10

November 1996

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's decision, Mr Wilkinson referred his complaint to the

Broadcasting Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989. He

enclosed a copy of a letter to TVNZ which explained the reasons for his dissatisfaction.

Putting to one side TVNZ's comments about the definition of PGR and about the

literature which referred to police dramas, Mr Wilkinson focussed on two points. The

first was the use of the word "children" which, Mr Wilkinson wrote, suggested some

degree of innocence. The scene to which he objected, he added, would destroy

childhood innocence. For TVNZ not to recognise it as "fearsome and graphic", he

contended, meant that TVNZ staff had become desensitised. Secondly, he wrote:

Your argument that the scene was short and that there are no close ups of the

injuries only accentuates the lack of imagination you folk at TVNZ have, and not

only that, assume that the rest of us are the same, even up to the point of

including "children". Can't you see that because of the implied violence, skilfully

done, leaves out the actual moment of the cut to the flesh, it is more effective by

implication. If you can't see that, then you have lost all sense of discernment.

For TVNZ to hide behind this subterfuge is cynical in the extreme.

Mr Wilkinson concluded by describing TVNZ's comment about intellectual stimulation

as "platitudes" given the violence screened in "prime time".

TVNZ's Response to the Authority -21 November 1996

Noting that Mr Wilkinson had not challenged the standards under which the complaint

would be considered although he had been given an opportunity before the complaint

was assessed, TVNZ maintained that PGR was the appropriate certification for the

programme. PGR, it added, invited adults to decide whether to allow children in their

care to view a programme.

Mr Wilkinson's Final Comment - 29 November 1996

Emphasising that he was not complaining about the content of the scene but its timing,

and thus standard G12 rather than standard V1, Mr Wilkinson said his complaint was

concerned first with the definition of the word "children" in the PGR classification.

Secondly, he considered TVNZ's definition of the word "violence" to be "lamentably

narrow".

He concluded:

Let me just say that my complaint is not mindless or frivolous. If standards are

set, then they should adhered to, and media should not be able, Alice in

Wonderland like, to make words mean what they prefer.

Changing social mores should not be allowed to intrude on childhood, so that the

impression is touted that children are in effect no more than small adults.