GMP continue to use footage submitted by you to catch dangerous road users to keep our roads safer

Since the launch of our dashcam submission portal, now named Operation Snap, road users have continued to use this, which has seen a steady increase in the number of submissions.

In 2020 this saw 3,715 individual reports across Greater Manchester to a dedicated team to review, when most recently in 2023 this increased to 5,078 submissions.

Outcomes can range from warning letters to action from the central ticket office in terms of fines and further prosecution, each outcome in terms of whether further action or no action was taken communicated directly to the person submitting the report further down the line. Other reports are used as key evidence for ongoing intelligence.

From August 2023 to January 2024, compared to the same period the year before, we had an 85% increase in the total of positive outcomes (1,563).

Whilst during 2024 so far (up to mid-October 2024) a total of 4,729 submissions have been received, with 3,110 positive outcomes to date.

Reports made relate to the ‘Close Pass’ of cyclists, the manner of driving including no seatbelt, use of a mobile phone or running a red light, alongside speeding, using the hard shoulder or irresponsible parking through obstruction by blocking junctions and pavements.

Further data from reports over the last year indicates hotspot locations of repeat reports that our officers then use to enforce road safety tactics, including in areas around Fountain Street in the city centre, Atherton Road in Hindley, Wigan, Oldham Road in Uppermill and Blackburn Road in Bolton, to name a few.

Its sole purpose is to improve road safety and to prosecute those that place others at risk, meaning we can effectively deal with the footage recorded by members of the public in a safe and secure way, whilst making the investigation process simple and straightforward.

We are reiterating our commitment to increasing submissions of video and photographic evidence relating to driving offences that members of the public have witnessed and would encourage people to use it. The use of this portal supports our roadside checks and wider operations, and our officers will use this footage to detect offences and deal with them appropriately. It is not asking you to go out and detect offences, but we will deal with any you find and have happened to record as part of your usual journey.

To use the system and begin your report, you can do so by clicking here: Report a road traffic incident | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk)

Before you report a traffic offence:

• Ensure that you have read and understand the information about the service.
• You must be able to provide the registration number of the offending vehicle. If you’re unable to read a vehicle’s registration plate in the original footage, then it’s unlikely that officers will be able to read it either.
• You should be prepared to sign a witness statement and possibly give evidence in court.
• Only accept a statement from people aged 18 or over. If you are under 18, please report your incident online or by calling 101.
• Please make sure you have uploaded your submissions as soon as possible within seven days of the suspected offence.
• Parking offences on single and double yellow lines, please report this instead to the relevant local council or highway authority in the area where it happened.
• If you need to report a road rage incident, please do not use the portal. Instead, you should report it online or call 101. If it’s an emergency, call 999.
• Do not upload your footage to social media. Advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is that your footage should not be in the public domain as this may adversely affect any subsequent proceedings.

Superintendent Gareth Parkin of GMP’s Safer Transport Unit said; “Our dashcam portal, which we have codenamed Op Snap, is our way of having a determined and robust approach to policing the roads and we’ll take every opportunity to make them safer for everyone.

“Sharing the roads and pavements and being respectful of that between drivers, riders, cyclists, and pedestrians is key to a safer Greater Manchester and our commitment to ensure we can reduce the number of fatal and serious collisions.

“Dashcam and cycle cam footage from drivers and cyclists using the roads is vital to this enforcement and we encourage everyone to continue to use the portal to do this.

“We wish to support individuals choosing a sustainable form of transport such as cycling. We will hold drivers to account on every occasion where we identify that the standard of driving falls below that of a careful and competent driver.

“Vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and motorcyclists are at much greater risk of serious injury and death than those in vehicles. Our priority is to protect those most vulnerable.

“By helping us we can help you and ensure you feel confident in the knowledge that the road network is being patrolled by our dedicated units with the support of the public.”

Everybody has the right to be safe, and feel safe, on the roads, and Greater Manchester as a region is committing to Vision Zero, an ambition to eliminate all road death and life-changing injuries by 2040, with a 50% reduction by 2030.

Reducing casualties and collisions will also alleviate cost and staffing pressure for emergency services. GMP attends around 925 road traffic collision related incidents on average every month, with around 3,000 officers required to attend road traffic collisions each month.