Well, we had Sunday lunch with friends this weekend, and the hubby is a Director of IT Security for Government systems. He laughed at the prospect of the yanks accessing our Police computer systems, firstly he said that the UK have enough trouble getting all forces to access the system, secondly he said that the UK aren't that much in the yanks pockets. Apparently we do send notification worldwide of those known to be a security risk, i.e. drugs barons or terrorists but that's as far as it goes. He said that their visa system is totally based on fear and honesty, and those that apply for a visa will quite likely be interviewed to see if they can be caught out admitting to worse than they put on their form.
So, it's up to us whether we wear the honesty cloak, or concede that being arrested as teenager warrants loads of stress and expense in applying for a visa.
This info really was from the horses mouth.