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Northamptonshire Police FAQs

Please read these frequently asked questions before submitting your footage.

  • What offences are covered by Operation Snap?

Northamptonshire Police will investigate offences of dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, careless driving, using a mobile phone, not wearing a seat belt, contravening a red traffic light, contravening solid white lines, and other offences where the driver is clearly not in proper control of the vehicle.

  • What will happen to a driver reported through Operation Snap?

There are a number of disposal methods available, depending on the nature of any identified offence. The driver could be offered a driver education course, they could receive a Fixed Penalty Notice, they could receive a summons to attend court, or we may decide we are unable to take any further action. The footage and statement will have been reviewed by a warranted police officer who will take all factors into consideration, including current Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charging standards.

  • Will my own driving or the way in which I captured the footage be looked at?

When our police officers review your submitted footage they are duty bound to also review the manner of your driving, and the manner in which the footage was obtained. For example, if you were exceeding the speed limit in order to catch up with an offending driver and then proceeded to film them with your mobile phone whilst driving, then officers will consider also taking action against you. Don't break the law to incriminate other drivers.

  • Can Operation Snap take action over close passes on cyclists and horse riders?

Cyclists and horse riders are vulnerable road users. Where appropriate, and providing a road traffic offence has been committed, we will take action if someone’s driving puts them at risk. If you have video footage of a close pass on either a cyclist or a horse and rider, please fill in the web form for Operation Snap Northamptonshire. You can find out more about Operation Close Pass here.

  • Will you take action against cyclists breaking the law or riding dangerously?

Officers will deal with all matters of careless riding/cycling as best they can. It’s vital to remember that the vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders are at much greater risk of serious injury and death than those in cars. Our priority should always be to protect those most vulnerable.

  • What forms of evidence does Operation Snap accept?

Evidence will be accepted in the form of video footage. You must consider whether the footage you have will be sufficient for the officers to investigate and prosecute an offence. For example, if you claim a vehicle travelled through a red traffic light, we need to be able to see that the relevant light was on red.

  • Can I edit my footage to add impact?

Any footage uploaded must be the original footage and not edited. Any footage that has been edited will not be accepted and automatically rejected.

  • Will I have to make a statement as part of my submission?

Yes. As part of the criminal justice process, and in order to allow officers to deal with an offender in an appropriate manner, you will be required to provide a statement. However, this is completed online and most of the statement will be completed as a result of you answering some simple pre-formatted questions in the submission form.

  • Are there any time limits on submitting footage?

The types of offence which Northamptonshire Police deal with generally have a six-month time limit for prosecutions. Officers also have an obligation to inform the offending driver of the offence which they have committed, usually within 10 days of the incident. Please make your submissions as soon as possible after an incident. If more than 10 days have passed, please still submit your evidence as our officers may still be able to take action.

  • Do I need to have an accurate date/time stamp on my video footage?

Ideally the date and time should be correct. The video footage is used to support your written witness testimony. Your witness statement must clearly state what time/date the incident occurred. You must account for any discrepancies in date/time within the evidence you present to us.

  • I can't read the number plate of the offending vehicle, can you enhance it?

No. We cannot enhance recorded footage. If you are unable to read the vehicle number plate from the original clip, then officers are unlikely to be able to read it when they replay the footage. If the registration number cannot be read, we are unlikely to be unable to take action as a result of your submission.

  • Will my mobile phone or other recording device be taken from me?

No, the device you use to record the offence will not be taken from you.

  • What do I need to do with the original recording?

It will be your responsibility to ensure that the original footage is saved in its original format dependant on how it is stored on your recording device. This could be, for example, on the internal memory of the device or perhaps on an external storage medium such as an SD card.

  • So, if I must keep the memory card or device to one side will the police give me a new one?

No. The police do not replace memory cards or devices with like items in any circumstances.

  • Can’t I just send you some screen shots from a video I have? They clearly show the offence I want to bring to your attention.

At present, Northamptonshire Police can only accept video footage through Operation Snap. We need this to be able to see the offence from start to finish. We may also need to see more of your journey so that officers can understand the context of what happened.

  • I’ve put my footage on social media, it’s getting lots of comments. Can you take a look?

No. We can only accept dashcam footage submitted through Operation Snap.

If you are planning to submit a report through Operation Snap, please remove the footage from social media. CPS advice is that your footage should not be in the public domain as this may adversely affect any subsequent proceedings. Please fill in the Northamptonshire Police web form and start the Operation Snap process with us.

  • How will my footage be stored?

The footage you submit, along with your statement, will be stored securely on a cloud server.

  • How long will the footage be stored for?

The information which you submit will generally be retained for a period of two years, or at least until the conclusion of any proceedings.

  • How will the evidence I provide be used?

The evidence which you provide to Northamptonshire Police (your digital media footage and accompanying statement) will be reviewed by an experienced police officer to firstly establish if an offence has been committed, and if it has, to identify the specific offence. The information will then be used to move the process to the next stage, with certain paperwork sent to the driver of the offending vehicle.

  • Will the offending driver know who I am?

The offending driver will not be provided with your details. However, on the rare occasion that a reported offence results in a court appearance, then at this stage the offending driver will become aware of your name, but not your address or any other personal details.

  • Will I be kept up to date when I submit footage?

Northamptonshire Police will provide feedback to advise witnesses if their submission has been accepted for prosecution or marked for no further action. This feedback will be available as part of a monthly data export published at https://www.northantspas.com/PAWeb/Public/Content/23

All submissions are reviewed by experienced traffic officers who will make a decision based on the evidential points to prove for an offence and the public interest test. This decision is final and not subject to review or appeal.

  • Will I have to go to court and give evidence?

On average, only one to two per cent of all reported offences result in a court appearance. There are other ways a case can be dealt with, for example a person may have to attend a driver improvement course or accept a fixed penalty notice.

If the offence which you report does require a court appearance, you will be fully supported through the process.

  • I want you to see the footage but don’t want to go to court. Can’t you just deal with it?

We need your statement to take action. Officers need this detail to fully understand the situation, and people accused of offences have a right to have matters heard in a court of law. Please fill in the web form. We will be in touch if you are required to attend court and can support you through the process.

  • You’re asking the public to do the police’s job here. Why can’t you catch all these people breaking the law?

Northamptonshire Police regularly receives complaints about dangerous and anti-social driving. We have a robust approach to policing the county’s roads and will take every opportunity to make them safer for everyone. Operation Snap allows us to effectively deal with dashcam footage in a safe and secure way, whilst making the investigation process simple and straightforward for the police and members of the public. Operation Snap is not asking you to go out and detect offences on behalf of Northamptonshire Police, but we will deal with any you report.

  • I think I’ve been reported by someone using Operation Snap. What should I do?

Please contact Northamptonshire Police via one of the following methods:

* Online

* By phone on 101

  • Will my footage be used for any other purposes?

Any information provided by you will be treated in strict confidence. The information you provide will be placed on Police Systems and protected by the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018. For further information about how we use personal data, please see Privacy Policy..