Hundreds of videos submitted during first year of Operation Snap

Since Operation Snap was launched twelve months ago, Northamptonshire Police has received more than 600 video submissions, of which, just under half have led to further action.

Rolled out across the county in August last year, Operation Snap enables people to report driving offences by uploading video evidence via a simple online portal on the Force website.

In the first 12 months, the Force received 612 submissions from 413 individual witnesses, resulting in a total of 300 Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) letters being sent to registered owners.

Videos have ranged from driving dangerously to drivers not being in proper control of a vehicle, driving without due care and attention, overtaking on solid white lines, ignoring traffic lights, carrying excessive passengers and unsecure loads.

Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Operations Manager, Matthew O’Connell, said: “When people see a marked police car they tend to drive more carefully and behave, but we know the public see bad and dangerous driving all the time.

“Through the use of Operation Snap, we have thousands of additional pairs of eyes helping us to keep our roads safer and thanks to the public’s support are able to take action against driving offences we otherwise wouldn’t see.

“Although this service allows people to share evidence of driving offences with us quickly and easily so we can take prompt and appropriate action. It’s important to remember, we only have 14 days from when the offence is committed to do this.

“It's also important to remember we examine footage for evidence of offences by all parties, so please don't break the law in order to report someone else to us, or you could be in trouble as well.”

Funded by the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner with the support of the Department for Transport, Operation Snap provides an additional resource to prevent and reduce serious and fatal collisions.

Northamptonshire Safer Roads Alliance Chair, Superintendent Adam Ward, said: “Last year, 42 people were killed on our county’s roads, and a further 347 were seriously injured, and our main priority continues to be to improve road safety in Northamptonshire.

“Through education and enforcement, where necessary, we need to stop people putting themselves and other road users at risk because they do not believe they will get caught. But poor driving and behaviour will not be tolerated.

“Since the launch of Operation Snap, the chances of getting caught for committing traffic offences goes up. If that fear of getting caught results in road users using our roads more safely, then that’s only a good thing.

“Over the past 12 months, Operation Snap has proved an invaluable policing tool, and has complemented the good work already being carried out by all the alliance partners.

“However, with the continued support of the public, we hope it acts as a deterrent and encourages all road users to use our road network legally and responsibly, to help improve road safety across the county.”

Operation Snap allows motorists to safely and securely upload their dash-cam or phone footage direct and fill out a form which automatically creates a witness statement to provide a full account of the incident.

Reports are then triaged by trained police staff, who check the footage to ensure it falls within the scheme's remit and contains clear views of offenders' number plates so they can be identified.

If they do, police officers in the Safer Roads Team then examine the footage and reports to identify offences and begin legal proceedings where required. The most common reason for a rejected submission is insufficient video evidence to support a prosecution.

For more information about Operation Snap or to submit video footage, visit the Northamptonshire Police website at www.northants.police.uk/OpSnap

ENDS