Thousands send in dangerous driving footage of reckless motorists on West Midlands roads
Thousands of video clips of motorists driving recklessly on West Midlands roads are being sent to police on a monthly basis.
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West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said Operation Snap has seen members of the public forwarding more than 2,000 pieces of footage of careless and dangerous driving.
In the first three months of the year, more than 6,000 potential offences have been reported with 84 per cent resulting in ‘positive action’ being taken.
Earlier this month, Mr Foster announced a further £165,000 funding for the dash cam reporting service.
Operation Snap allows members of the public to submit video footage of careless, dangerous or reckless driving incidents, captured on their dash cams or other recording devices.
Last year, the service received over 16,200 video clips, resulting in a remarkable 85 per cent success rate for prosecution.
Motorists found guilty of driving offences faced a range of consequences, including instant bans, warning letters, fines, penalty points on their licenses and, in serious cases, court appearances.
Mr Foster told the PCC’s Accountability and Governance Board, at a meeting on Tuesday (May 27): “I am pleased to announce that members of the public are now forwarding more than 2,000 video clips of careless, dangerous and reckless driving to West Midlands Police every month.
“Much of the footage, gathered by the Op Snap team, is filmed using dash cams or mobile phones.
“This has led to 6,181 potential motoring offences being reported to police over the first 3 months of the year and in 84 per cent of cases, positive action is taken against the offender, that can include a warning letter, a fixed penalty fine, penalty points, prosecution, conviction and even a driving ban.
“I recently invested a further £165,000 in Op Snap, so the team could recruit more police officers to process the all too often shocking footage, that they receive from the public.
“This is yet further evidence, of how seriously I am taking the need to prevent and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and reduce the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads.”
