I must admit that I find these discussions rather interesting, particularly as ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the Law over here.

Actually, here it is opposite. You do not need to show a loss in a criminal matter, but must show a loss for a civil proceeding: no loss ( damages ), no case.
Hmmm, I have noticed a certain tendency for American Law to criminalise things that would be civil actions over here. I suspect that like ourselves you must have "cease and desist" and "specific performance" in your civil laws?

If you climbed a utility pole ( or dug down to the wires ) and tapped into your neighbors telephone lines are you cheating your neighbor ( who may be very pissed off ) or are you cheating the Telco because you are not paying them for using their lines,
Now this is a really amusing one................that is actually a VERY SERIOUS CRIMINAL offence over here...........you would be looking at 7 years?, maybe 14? This is possibly historical? the postal system and the telephones used to be run by the same government body...........the laws remain.

Generally speaking, although they probably could be more specific, they are not necessarily flawed and are enforceable. However, again, I agree lack of resources and expertise are major factors when attempting to enforce them. ( I'll get back to this )
That is another interesting one...........my real criticism is that the laws are too detailed and specific and criminalise things that are probably best left civil, or midemeanours?

Al Capone ring a bell?
...................yes the FBI couldn't nail him but the IRS put him in Joliet for 11 years for tax evasion. They also have a much better expenses budget than our lot..........proper meal and booze in central London rather than sandwiches and coffee

the law was too broadly written
Strangely, that seems to be a deliberate policy over here............write the laws loose and let case law and precedence sort it out? BUT, please remember that we would consider most of this issue to be civil law, not criminal. Obviously there is a big difference in approach?

I find this very interesting because we have yet to draft our laws in these areas, how you guys get on will probably help us a lot.