The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (Simple Cautions) (Specification of Police Ranks) Order 2015
Section 17(5) of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (c. 2) (“the 2015 Act”) provides that it is for a police officer not below a rank specified by order made by the Secretary of State to determine whether there are exceptional circumstances for the purposes of subsection (2), (3) or (4), and whether a previous offence is similar to the offence admitted for the purposes of subsection (4)(b). Section 18(1) of the 2015 Act gives the Secretary of State power to specify different ranks for each of these determinations.