Dashcam footage sent to West Mercia Police 3,000 times over year

Since Operation Snap was launched one year ago, 42 per cent of those caught on camera received warning letters and a further 43 per cent were processed for prosecution.

Members of the public have always been able to report incidents of dangerous or unlawful driving, but the operation uses evidence captured by dashcams and other devices as part of the reporting process.

It has been supported by Brake and Cycling UK, and allows people to submit digital footage showing potential traffic offences direct to West Mercia Police.

Videos have ranged from driving dangerously or carelessly to overtaking on solid white lines, ignoring traffic lights or dangerous driving around other road users such as horse riders and cyclists.

The platform allows motorists to safely and securely upload their video footage directly to the right police force before offences are reviewed by officers and followed up.

Great addition

Inspector Lloyd Creswell, of roads policing at West Mercia Police, said “Operation Snap has been complementing the work already being done by police officers on our road network for over a year now and the natural step forward is to work to ensure the wider general public are aware of the initiative and how to use it.

"The addition of the roadside posters across West Mercia and the presence of Operation Snap advertising on some of the electronic traffic boards is a way of helping with this."

John Campion, police and crime commissioner for West Mercia, said: “Fifty-four people died following road traffic collisions last year in West Mercia with a further 463 were seriously injured.

"Operation Snap is a great addition to our operational policing and I am confident that with the help of other road users, this initiative will deter people from making poor choices on the road and help make our roads safer for all.

"People take risks on the road due to thinking they will not get caught and a lack of consequence, so raising awareness of Operation Snap is a great step forward to getting the message out there that poor driving behaviour will not be tolerated within West Mercia."

To submit footage to West Mercia Police visit westmercia.police.uk/operationsnap