Crime and Policing Bill: Police powers factsheet
Published 25 February 2025
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What are we going to do?
Improve public safety and c confidence by giving the police the powers they need to crack down on criminals.
Measures in the bill will:
(a) expand police powers to drug test suspects on arrest for a greater number of trigger offences and for a wider range of controlled drugs, including specified Class B and C drugs, in addition to Class A drugs. Those drugs will be specified in secondary legislation and may include, for example, cannabis.
(b) create new powers for the police to enter and search premises to which stolen goods have been electronically geolocation tracked, where it is not practicable to obtain a warrant, empowering officers to quickly investigate theft and tackle prolific offenders in these cases. The new power will also enable police lawfully on those premises to seize stolen goods and evidence of theft offences.
(c) Regularise and clarify the access to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (“DVLA”) driving licence records and, via secondary legislation, provide that the information may be used for policing or law enforcement purposes.
(d) Increase the pool of foreign national offenders who may be given a conditional caution in order to secure their departure from the UK. This will ensure we make the best use of our prisons and protect the public by removing foreign national offenders at the earliest opportunity.
How are we going to do it?
Drug testing on arrest
The bill expands police powers to drug test on arrest (“DToA”) so that they can test individuals in police detention (who meet the necessary conditions) for a wider range of controlled drugs (under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971), including specified Class B and C drugs. Those drugs will be specified in secondary legislation and may include, for example, cannabis.
Currently, under powers in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the police can only drug test in police detention for specified Class A drugs. Specifically, the police can currently drug test those arrested, if aged 18 and over, or charged, if aged 14 and over, for the presence of specified Class A drugs if arrested or charged for a trigger offence or where an inspector or above has reasonable grounds to suspect specified Class A drug use has caused or contributed to the offence and authorises the test.
To allow for the implementation of these wider testing powers, the bill also gives the police the power to take one additional sample for DToA. This is to ensure that the police may test for a wider range of drugs (specified Class A, B and C drugs) where the first sample was insufficient or unsuitable.
Current trigger offences are listed in Schedule 6 to the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and include largely acquisitive crimes and some drug offences, including theft, handling stolen goods, and possession of a controlled drug if committed in respect of a specified Class A drug.
The bill expands the range of trigger offences to include a number of violent crimes that have a link to illicit drug use. It also removes some offences where links to drug use are no longer clear.
Powers of entry to recover stolen goods
The bill will amend the Theft Act 1968 to introduce a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically geolocation tracked, where the items are reasonably believed to have been stolen and are on those premises, and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.
Once on the premises, police will be able to seize items reasonably believed to be stolen, as well as evidence of theft offences where necessary to prevent damage or disappearance.
The police currently have no general power to enter and search premises solely for the purpose of searching for and seizing stolen goods without a warrant. They must apply to the courts for a warrant under, for example, section 8 of PACE or section 26 of the Theft Act 1968.
The new power will support the police to take prompt action in the ‘golden hour’ of investigative opportunity, which is particularly crucial for investigations into acquisitive crime, by giving them an additional tool to do so. It is intended to facilitate the swift seizure of stolen property and help the police provide a better service to victims of this crime. The likelihood of prompt action may provide a deterrent effect to criminals.
The new search and entry power will require authorisation from an officer of the rank of at least Inspector, and its use will be subject to the existing safeguards and guidance in PACE Code B, which covers police’s exercise of powers of entry, search and seizure. We will amend Code B to incorporate guidance for police on exercise of the new powers.
The electronic geolocation tracking requirement will encompass tracking via GPS or other electronic location data such as Bluetooth, WiFi access points or cellular mobile network technology. The provision will be sufficiently broad to encompass future technological developments, insofar as possible.
Access to the DVLA driver licence records
The bill will clarify the list of policing and other agencies and the individuals within each organisation that can have access to the DVLA’s driving licence records for policing and law enforcement purposes. This access will be better aligned to data protection legislation by making the chief officer specifically accountable for training and authorising the individuals within their organisation. Access to driver licence records will be subject to a code of practice to ensure that the information is appropriately used.
Cautions to FNOS
The bill will extend section 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to enable the police and Crown Prosecution Service to give conditional cautions which secure the departure of the offender from the UK to foreign nationals with limited leave to enter or remain in the UK.
Background
Drug testing on arrest
Drug testing in police detention, known as Drug Testing on Arrest (DToA), was introduced as a police power in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. Expanding the police use of DToA is an important tool to help reduce reoffending and reduce the demand for drugs.
Police powers were expanded in August 2023 (via the Criminal Justice (Specified Class A Drugs) Order 2023) to enable them to test for all Class A drugs. The list of trigger offences has not been expanded since 2007.
Expanding the trigger offences and controlled drugs for DToA to include specified Class B and C drugs (as well as specified Class A drugs) will help identify a wider cohort of drug users, including those who commit violent or serious sexual offences, whose drug use may contribute to their offending and divert more individuals to treatment and support services. The expansion of DToA seeks to protect the health of the individual, by diverting those who use drugs to treatment or support services, and aims to ultimately reduce re-offending and drug-related offending more broadly.
Powers of entry to recover stolen goods
Advances in technology have made it easier to track stolen items. Electronic devices, such as mobile phones, often have Global Positioning System (GPS) applications, or other tracking means, and GPS trackers can now be fitted to high value items such as vehicles and machinery, or placed in handbags. This means victims of theft can inform the police of where their stolen item was last located when electronic geolocation functionality was available. Concerns are frequently raised by victims, the media and police themselves that victims of theft, including snatch theft and pickpocketing, or personal robbery are able to track stolen devices or vehicles, using GPS trackers or apps such as Apple’s ‘Find My’, but on reporting the crime and sharing this information police are not always able to take action.
Where items can be tracked to specific locations they are often rapidly moved on or sold, or otherwise disabled to prevent location tracking. This reduces the chance of successfully retrieving the item or obtaining evidence to support a charge and potential prosecution. Acting quickly would help to prevent stolen goods being moved out of the country or used to facilitate other crime, particularly in the case of vehicles, mobile phones and other machinery.
On mobile phone theft specifically, this new power will complement wider law enforcement activity to tackle this criminality, including intensification activities at hotspot locations and during times of a heightened risk of mobile phone theft, and technical solutions provided by industry to tackling mobile phone theft. The Home Office is working with representatives from the mobile phone industry, including tech companies, and law enforcement to see what more can collectively be done to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.
Access to the DVLA driver licence records
Section 71 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 gives police officers and certain other law enforcement officers in the United Kingdom access to driver information held by the DVLA. For data provided through the Police National Computer (“PNC”) or Law Enforcement Data Service this access is restricted by regulations primarily to purposes related to the enforcement of road traffic offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988, for example if a person has been stopped on suspicion of careless driving or for having an unroadworthy vehicle.
The police and the National Crime Agency have provided compelling and significant examples of where DVLA driver information could have better safeguarded the public should it have been available more promptly. The bill will allow access to driver records for policing and law enforcement purposes and provide a regulation-making power for further provision to be made about the purposes and circumstances in which information may be made available. This will be done following engagement with Scottish Ministers, the Northern Ireland Department of Justice, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the DVLA to ensure the new powers have the appropriate operational oversight. This will ensure officers and other authorised persons with operational need can access information quickly at the point of need.
Cautions to FNOS
Currently a foreign national offender may be given a conditional caution where all the following criteria are met:
(a) There is sufficient evidence to charge the foreign national and there is a realistic prospect of conviction;
(b) The foreign national accepts the caution and agrees to comply with deportation;
(c) The foreign national makes a clear admission of guilt;
(d) The foreign national has no leave to remain in the UK and is liable to administrative removal or deportation;
(e) There are no barriers to deportation, such as an outstanding asylum or human rights claim and the person is not a victim of trafficking;
(f) The sentence likely to be imposed by the court for the offence concerned would be less than two years’ imprisonment; and
(g) The decision to issue a caution for any ‘indictable only’ offence should be taken only in exceptional circumstances and must be taken by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The purpose of the caution is to bring about the departure from the UK of a foreign national offender and prevent their re-entry to the UK for five years. Foreign national conditional cautions enable the departure of an offender from the UK without the expense of a trial and custodial or community sentence.
Key statistics
Drug testing on arrest
DToA data reported to the Home Office shows that during the period March 2022 to March 2024, there were a total of 117,825 tests reported to the Home Office. The positive test rate for these tests was 56% (65,638). Between March 2023 and March 2024, the forces returning data on referrals to assessment for treatment after a positive test reported 23,021 positive tests and 21,015 referrals to assessments. This equates to 91% of positive tests resulting in a referral to assessment for treatment. Over the same period, forces returning data on referrals to treatment following completed assessments reported 4,360 completed assessments and 2,223 referrals to treatment. This equates to 51% of completed assessments leading to referrals to treatment.
Cannabis (Class B) continues to be the most commonly used drug in England and Wales. In the year to March 2024, 6.8% of people aged 16 to 59 years and 13.8% of people aged 16 to 24 years reported having used cannabis in the last year. [footnote 1]
Powers of entry to recover stolen goods
According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales there were 747,000 vehicle-related offences, 363,000 thefts from the person and 409,000 burglaries in the year to June 2024.
Charge rates have remained fairly stable: 2.3% of vehicle offences resulted in a charge or summons in the year to June 2024, compared to the 1.8% year to June 2023. In the same period the charge/summons rate for theft from the person remained at 0.8%, and for residential burglary the rate was 4.5% in the year to June 2024 compared to 4.0% in the year to June 2023.
Access to the DVLA driver licence records
UK territorial policing are major users of DVLA data – in 2023/24 over 6.5 million checks were made in relation to road traffic matters.
Non-territorial policing uses was smaller, but still significant given the size of the force, for example over 2,250 times by the Mersey Tunnels Police and over 5,400 times by the British Transport Police. These will all have been in connection with individuals suspected of driving without a licence or outside the terms of their licence.
Frequently asked questions
Drug testing on arrest
Why are you expanding DToA to Class Bs and Cs?
Expanding the drugs within scope of DToA will support the police to identify more individuals who use drugs and where their drug use may contribute to their criminality.
Class B and Class C drugs are harmful to the individual and their misuse can make communities less safe – that is why they are controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. DToA is an important tool to support the police to protect the health of the individual, by diverting to treatment or support services and address their drug use, and aims ultimately to reduce re-offending and drug-related offending more broadly.
Why are you expanding the list of DToA trigger offences?
Expanding trigger offences to include a number of violent crimes where there are strong links to drug use will make it easier for the police to drug test for persons arrested for those crimes. Doing so will therefore enable more referrals into treatment, where a drug test is positive and a referral is appropriate, supporting individuals to confront their drug use and address a possible causal factor in their criminal behaviour. This supports the government’s Safer Streets Mission, particularly in regards helping tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour, knife crime and violence against women and girls.
Will expanding Drug Testing on Arrest criminalise drug users?
DToA is not about further criminalising drug users. Instead, it provides an opportunity to intervene to treat and reduce their drug use, and potentially reduce future offending, by supporting them to change their behaviour. It is not an offence to be under the influence of drugs, outside of scenarios such as drug-driving.
Following a positive drug test, the individual may be required to attend an initial drug assessment, and follow-up assessment if needed. Failure to attend these assessments, and failure to give a sample without good cause, are offences and can result in further charge. Following a drug test, irrespective of the result, the individual would continue to be dealt with by the criminal justice system in relation to the offence for which they were initially arrested or charged, as appropriate.
Are there sufficient resources to provide treatment to those who test positive?
The Home Office continues to work with partners including the Joint Combatting Drugs Unit and the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that the appropriate infrastructure is in place.
Why are you increasing the number of samples that can be taken under DToA?
Controlled drugs are harmful to the individual and their misuse can make communities less safe. We are expanding the drugs within scope of DToA so that the police may identify more individuals who use drugs and where their drug use may contribute to their criminality.
Doing so protects the health of the individual, by diverting to treatment or support services and address their drug use, and aims to ultimately reduce re-offending and drug-related offending more broadly.
The expansion to specified Class B and Class C drugs means there will be a greater need to test for more drugs. To allow the legislative changes to be implemented, we are increasing the number of samples that may be taken by the police under DToA.
While technology continues to improve and adapt, there is currently a limit to the number of drugs a single testing machine can identify. By taking more than one sample, we are allowing police forces to test for more drugs across different testing machines.
The number of samples will only increase from one to two samples. Any second sample may only be taken where the first sample is insufficient or unsuitable.
Powers of entry to recover stolen goods
Why are you creating the new power?
The importance of people feeling safe when on the street is paramount. As part of our Safer Streets Mission, the government is determined to crack down on theft and other crimes that make people feel unsafe when out and about in our communities, including strengthening neighbourhood policing, tackling anti-social behaviour and restoring public confidence.
We have been clear, when you call the police, they should come; and when you report a crime it should be properly investigated no matter who you are, or where you live.
We have heard concerns from victims of theft that police cannot always take action to retrieve their stolen property, even when they are able to electronically track its location to particular premises.
This new power will give the police an additional tool to swiftly investigate reports of acquisitive crime which are supported by evidence of electronic location tracking, and maximise the opportunities presented by the ‘golden hour’ of investigation, including recovering stolen property and evidence while still available and recoverable.
Acting quickly will help to prevent stolen goods being moved out of the country or used to facilitate other crime, and deter criminals.
Entering and searching someone’s home is a serious invasion of privacy. How will you ensure these powers are used proportionately?
The new power strikes the balance between allowing the police to act quickly and decisively against thieves where items have been electronically tracked to specific premises, whilst safeguarding the right to respect for a private and family life.
The power is intended to be exercised in very specific circumstances, where the evidence leads the police to conclude that the warrant process would not be effective.
The bill sets out a clear threshold for the exercise of the powers. An officer of at least Inspector rank must be satisfied that the property has been electronically tracked to the premises, and there are in any case reasonable grounds to believe that the property is stolen and on the premises before the power can be authorised, as well as that it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose.
The requirement for the item and the premises to be linked by electronic tracking data further restricts the circumstances in which the powers can be exercised and provides an additional safeguard against disproportionate use or police accessing properties incorrectly, as it is intended to provide a further layer of reliability.
Further safeguards apply, including the fact that the powers cannot be used to search for and seize certain sensitive items including legally privileged or confidential journalistic material.
Access to the DVLA driver licence records
Why are you changing existing legislation?
The existing legislation is unclear about the persons who can access DVLA driving licence data. The changes will also mean that records will be available for wider policing and law enforcement purposes so giving the police another tool to cut crime and keep the public safe, in line with the commitment by chief officers to pursue all reasonable lines of inquiry when investigating an offence. Access will be subject to a code of practice to ensure use is appropriate.
Cautions to FNOs
Why are you making these changes?
Extending the existing provisions to foreign national offenders with limited leave to enter or remain will increase the number of offenders that depart from the UK. This will save money and increase public protection.
What else are you doing to increase the number of foreign national offenders removed from the UK?
Changes to the early removal scheme, which came into force in January 2024, extended the period a foreign national offender can be removed from prison for the purpose of deportation. Foreign national offenders can now be removed up to 18 months before the end of the custodial element of their sentence providing they have served the requisite custodial period. This will allow foreign national offenders subject to deportation to be removed earlier from the UK.
Prisoner Transfer Agreements allow for foreign national offenders to be transferred to their home country to serve the remainder of their sentence freeing up valuable prison space. Our new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania entered into force in May 2022, and we are looking to negotiate new Prisoner Transfer Agreements with key EU Member States and wider-world countries.
What if the offender returns to the UK?
If the foreign national does not comply with the conditions, they may be prosecuted for the original offence.