Name/Title
Mounted on board C14 form re C55/Fingerprints/Photographs guidance c1979Entry/Object ID
2231Description
A 'C14" form dated "6/79" attached to a piece of board that was originally screwed to a wall.This form details the additional offences for which a Form C55 had to be completed and fingerprints and photographs taken.Use
To remind officers which additional offences required fingerprints and photographs to be taken of the offendersContext
In the past only on being charged with certain more serious "Arrestable" offences, were the fingerprints and photographs of a prisoner automatically taken. This was because the law at the time did not give the police the blanket authority to take fingerprints and photographs for every offence. However there were additional less serious offences that also necessitated the taking of fingerprints and photographs and the recording of certain details. As some of these were obscure, officers would need to check any offence charged against a list of "Recordable" offences.
In more recent times not only are fingerprints, photographs and DNA taken for all offences but in most cases they are actually taken upon arrest, and kept even if a person is not subsequently charged with any offences. This not only allows a person's identity to be checked immediately but has led to the creation of a large database to compare with any evidence left at crime scenes. It has however led to some debate regarding civil liberties, after all should the fingerprints, photographs and DNA be kept of a person not charged or convicted of any offence?
Forms such as this would have been mounted in the custody areas of police stations where fingerprints and photographs were taken, for an officer to check to confirm whether these were needed, for any given prisoner.
A C55 form is a descriptive form used to add descriptive details onto the Police National Computer or PNC for short which holds criminal record data.
This particular list of offences has had a number of amendments made to it, as other offences have been added to the fingerprint etc. requirement or other changes made to that list. It was originally mounted on the wall in the custody area of Crowborough Police Station.