8.Many of the provisions within the Order replicate changes already made to the Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984 which provides the legislative framework in England & Wales. The Order includes provisions to:-
redefine the framework of arrest powers so that a police officer can arrest for any offence subject to a necessity test;
increase the range of search warrants for which police can apply;
take fingerprints of a suspect elsewhere other than a police station for the purpose of confirming identity;
take a visual image of an arrested person elsewhere other than a police station;
take footwear impressions with or without the suspect’s consent;
stop and search a person or vehicle and seize fireworks whose possession is in contravention of fireworks regulations;
allow the review of detention without charge to be carried out by telephone or video-conferencing facilities;
extend powers to take fingerprints without consent;
lower police authorisation levels for carrying out intimate searches and the taking of intimate and non-intimate samples;
extend the scope for the speculative searches of fingerprints and other samples;
change the definition of an arrested juvenile within PACE from anyone under the age of 17 years to anyone under the age of 18 years.