Recordable offence

A recordable offence is any offence in England and Wales where the police must keep records of convictions and offenders on the Police National Computer.

Legislation

The power for police to keep such records is contained in the National Police Records Regulations 2000. This states that a 'crime recordable offence' is an offence which must be recorded as a conviction on the PNC.
Recordable offences include any offence punishable by imprisonment, plus at least 50 non-imprisonable offences, such as:

nuisance communications
tampering with motor vehicles
firearms, air weapons, knives
football offences
causing harm or danger to children
drunkenness
poaching
failing to provide a specimen of breath, and
taking a pedal cycle without owner's consent

A full, lengthy, list of recordable offences is available, provided by ACPO as an Appendix to their Retention Guidelines for Nominal Records on the Police National Computer.

Further police powers

Where a person has been arrested for a recordable offence, police may fingerprint and take non-intimate DNA samples from suspects without authorisation from senior ranks.