On the previous orders we considered in Grand Committee today there was some question about whether the person with the relevant expertise was present, but the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, is here and, with 30 years’ service under his belt, his expertise is beyond doubt. As he was talking, I could see the smile on his face. I recall our exchanges on the Psychoactive Substances Bill. I know that in London he pioneered a low-level police response to low-level crime. However, there were high volumes.
The pilot to which the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, referred was in relation to body-worn cameras. It is still taking place. As I mentioned in my introductory remarks, that important pilot could revolutionise a lot of community policing. We are talking about 113,000 offences. When I have been out on patrol with the police, situations where there is a need to intervene but where there is no recording equipment require the police officer and others to go back to the custody suite for that process to be undertaken, so there will be a significant saving of police time to focus on serious crimes while not letting up on these points.
The noble Viscount, Lord Simon, went to the heart of it with two succinct questions, to which I shall try to respond. As a distinguished Member of your Lordships’ House, he will have spotted that I am taking a little extra time to make sure that we have the responses, and inspiration has now arrived. The police background check is recorded on the police national computer. If an individual has offended before, there will not be an on-street disclosure. The short answer is that the police national computer will be accessed in the location of the individual who is stopped and that would show whether the individual had been stopped before and whether it was a first offence. If either of those circumstances was not the case, further action of a more formal nature would need to be taken.
On theft and dishonesty, it is important to note that legal advice remains for someone who is accused of theft. Accordingly, a person can obtain advice from a lawyer regarding further information. Some people would regard drug offences as equally serious but both offences are deemed low-level.
The noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, asked why there are only four offences. These four offences cover the highest volume of indictable offences disposed of on the street. Other offences were low-level violence and arson, and we believe they should be dealt with in the custody suite.
The revision of the code was the subject of a formal consultation, as your Lordships would expect, and we got quite a lot of feedback. Quite a vigorous discussion took place. Although the revised code that was produced does not accede to all the representations that were made by the police, as I alluded to, it reaches a point where both parties recognise that this is a significant step forward while we wait and see what happens with further trials that are taking place, particularly with body- worn cameras.
With those answers and reassurances, I commend the regulations to the Committee.