Crime victims in West Midlands to be able to upload evidence online
A new project that will allow victims of crime to submit digital evidence online will roll out in the West Midlands next week.
The Digital Evidence Store Project will allow police officers to share an invitation with victims of crime to upload digital evidence, such as CCTV footage.
Concerns were raised at a Police and Crime Commissioner’s SPCB meeting on Tuesday over the amount of CCTV footage going unseen due to officers not attending the scene of crimes.
In response to this, West Midlands Police piloted a project in Coventry and Solihull, which will now be rolled out force-wide.
Deputy Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine said: "The project allows for investigating officers to share invites to allow witnesses to upload digital evidence rather than having to go and collect the evidence.
"This allows the officer in the case to review directly and see the value of the evidence
"Anything can be uploaded, including CCTV and Ring doorbell footage. It will be rolling out across the force next week and will be monitored."
The force also acknowledged that this project may not be accessible for some victims, but will help make use of more evidence than before.
DDC Vanessa Jardine said: "This is about bringing us into the digital age. There's been a proliferation in digital evidence available, such as Ring doorbells.
"This is just an opportunity to upload, and where we need to collect CCTV, then there will be availability for that."
