Which police forces accept dash cam footage?
We reveal the police forces around the UK that accept dash cam footage and how many prosecutions have resulted from it...
Dash cams by numbers
- Number of recordings sent to police 52,174
- Total actioned by police 33.4%
- Resulting in Fixed Penalty Notice 9.6%
- Resulting in driver awareness course 10.5%
- Resulting in a court prosecution 10.3%
- Resulting in a warning 3.0%
Read more: Best dash cams - reviewed and rated
Which police forces use dash cam footage to prosecute traffic offenders?
The regions in green accept dash cam videos that are uploaded by the public and where appropriate use them to prosecute people committing offences; the regions in red don't yet use footage.
| 1. | Avon and Somerset |
| 2. | Beds, Cambs, Herts |
| 3. | Cheshire |
| 4. | City of London |
| 5. | Cleveland |
| 6. | Cumbria |
| 7. | Derbyshire |
| 8. | Devon & Cornwall |
| 9. | Dorset |
| 10. | Durham |
| 11. | Dyfed-Powys |
| 12. | Essex |
| 13. | Gloucestershire |
| 14. | Greater Manchester |
| 15. | Gwent |
| 16. | Hampshire |
| 17. | Humberside |
| 18. | Kent |
| 19. | Lancashire |
| 20. | Leicestershire |
| 21. | Lincolnshire |
| 22. | Merseyside |
| 23. | Metropolitan |
| 24. | Norfolk & Suffolk |
| 25. | North Wales |
| 26. | North Yorkshire |
| 27. | Northamptonshire |
| 28. | Northumbria |
| 29. | Nottinghamshire |
| 30. | Police Scotland |
| 31. | Police Service of Northern Ireland |
| 32. | South Wales |
| 33. | South Yorkshire |
| 34. | Staffordshire |
| 35. | Surrey |
| 36. | Sussex |
| 37. | Thames Valley |
| 38. | Warwickshire |
| 39. | West Mercia |
| 40. | West Midlands |
| 41. | West Yorkshire |
| 42. | Wiltshire |
What the police did with the footage they received
| Police force | No of videos | No of actions | % of actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyfed-Powys | 375 | 305 | 81.3% |
| Norfolk & Suffolk | 1877 | 966 | 51.5% |
| Northamptonshire | 612 | 300 | 49.0% |
| Metropolitan | 24,799 | 11,247 | 45.4% |
| Gwent | 728 | 306 | 42.0% |
| Warwickshire | 1875 | 722 | 34.6% |
| Gloucestershire | 470 | 180 | 38.3% |
| Humberside | 272 | 94 | 34.6% |
| Devon & Cornwall | 1182 | 379 | 31.1% |
| North Wales | 1587 | 516 | 27.8% |
| West Midlands | 5934 | 1486 | 25.0% |
| Durham | 38 | 9 | 23.7% |
| Beds, Cambs & Herts | 1906 | 420 | 22.0% |
| South Wales | 1982 | 417 | 21.0% |
| Dorset | 475 | 87 | 18.3% |
| West Mercia | 3055 | na | na |
| North Yorkshire | 1528 | na | na |
| Essex | 2342 | na | na |
| Derbyshire | 867 | na | na |
Fewer cars on the roads but not fewer offences
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of offences reported to the police is actually going up. During the 12-week period between August and mid-October, 3805 videos were uploaded to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDCSP) – 78% more than the average for that length of time.
Dash cam maker Nextbase, which set up the portal, pointed out that driving wasn’t necessarily safer just because there were fewer vehicles on the roads.
“In fact, less busy roads can encourage motorists to bend the rules or lose concentration,” said Nextbase director Richard Browning. “However, the NDCSP was created to make our roads safer and it is encouraging to see that people have still been reporting issues where reckless motorists have thought that they can take advantage of the clear roads, potentially endangering others.”
