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How many times have you been incensed by someone else’s driving, to the point that you feel they really should be prosecuted for what they’ve just done? How many times have you felt that someone else’s driving has put you and your passengers or your family's lives at danger, because they have almost smashed into you, or maybe they have smashed into you, and then got away with it afterwards? Well, you can actually take action to get these people prosecuted for what they've done. Because if you have dash cam footage or any other kind of footage that captures what they've done, and it amounts to anything like careless or dangerous driving, then the police can, and really should take action, based on your footage. And that’s what I am talking about in today's video. But first of all, if you're new to me, I'm a barrister who helps you understand law. So please hit the subscribe button down below and the bell icon because that tells Youtube that you want to receive more of my videos. You can also check out my courses on blackbarrister.com, or by checking out the channel memberships with the join button below this video. Yes, I know many people watching this video won't like the idea of grassing people up for poor standards of driving. Forgive the phrase, but you know exactly what I mean, when I say that. But other people watching this video will feel that it's only right that people that put other people's lives in danger should be prosecuted for what they're doing, and perhaps teach them a lesson, and stop them from doing it again. And as it turns out, some police forces agree with me. Taking Dorset police as just one example, they call it Operation Snap, using dash cam footage. They have a system where you can upload your dash cam footage, which you say captures some dangerous driving, which includes various offences, and then what happens thereafter. And that's what I'm going to go through in this video. So it doesn't necessarily just apply to Dorset police, but it can apply to other police forces as well. Dorset police say and I quote that, “Operation Snap is the police response to the ever increasing submissions of video and photographic evidence from members of the public, in relation to witnessed driving offences.” It goes on to explain what kind of offences might be prosecuted, following the submission of such footage. Now, remember what this could be dash can footage, it could be other video footage as well, providing it's not the driver who is driving whilst taking the footage. That obviously is a big no-no. But offences that the police are likely to consider include dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, careless driving (which are two slightly separate things, although one can amount to the other, more on that in other videos), using a mobile phone handheld, not wearing seat belts, contravening red traffic lights, contravening solid white lines, and, of course, many other things that may either be wrong under law or indeed dangerous. And to help the police out, I am going to explain one or two of the aspects that they've listed as questions on their website, which include whether or not you can read the number plate of the offending vehicle. Quite obviously, If you cannot read the number plate of the vehicle, the police cannot do anything with the footage. However, usually, if you can read the license plate of the vehicle, the police can look up the address, right to the registered keeper of the vehicle, who has a duty under law to say who would have been driving the vehicle, at that given time. You cannot rely on the police enhancing, zooming in, or changing in any way this footage. It has to be readily readable, so that there is no doubt that that is the number plate of the offending vehicle in question. It should also go without saying that if there's been a more serious incident, whether that's a physical one, or a verbal one, which causes assault, or fear of harm, and injury, then this is not the appropriate resource to submit your footage. Any such things like that should be reported to the police in the normal way. If it's an emergency, you should be using the emergency number. If it's a nonemergency, obviously, you should be using 101, which is non emergency reports of incidents, such as this. Anybody worried that the police are going to come and take away your equipment, such as your phone, or your bash camp, that is almost certainly not going to happen. You can download the footage and upload it to the police website in question, so you don't need to worry about any time away from your devices. Another very important thing to note is that if you submit such footage to the police, and you’re inviting the police to take action on it, then please don't upload that footage to YouTube or any other social media platform, because the CPS recommend and advise that such footage is not in the public domain. Because it might adversely affect any proceedings against any likely defendant. Although court proceedings do commence, then they are generally public proceedings. So if you want to go along and watch the case as it unfolds in court, you may do so, as long as you know when and where it is. Next, if you are considering submitting your footage to the police, and you want them to take action on it to prosecute another driver. You must be prepared to make a statement to that effect. Because you were the one driving the vehicle at the time, it will be your footage, so it will be part of the criminal justice process that you are a witness to the event. And you must act accordingly. Although having said that, the statement will be relatively simple, relatively short, and probably very few, if any questions posed to you, to include and respond to in your statement. As for actually going to court to give evidence, now, aside from the fact that very few uploads of this type of footage, will result in prosecution for a number of different reasons. Most of the time, the police and the CPS will be able to prosecute such offenses without the need for you to attend court. It will only be in very rare circumstances that you will be required to attend court. And they will usually be more serious, in which case, it's likely to be reported in another way in the first place. And just as another warning, if you are driving aggressively, badly, or too fast, or contravening any other road signs during the footage, then remember that you are submitting this footage to the police, which is in and of itself evidence of your driving. So don't think that you are automatically exempt and immune from prosecution for anything that you do during the footage. So I hope that goes without saying that, if you're doing something really bad at the same time, then my suggestion to you would be not to submit the footage. Because the police may very well take action against you. As for what will happen to any of the drivers that you submit evidence to, that ultimately do get prosecuted? They will be dealt with in the usual way, and with the usual kind of penalties. That might include awareness courses, or education courses, they might include fixed penalties, or in some cases, they may well be summoned to attend court, if the case is slightly more serious, and the police only have your evidence to go. Now, I turn to cyclists. And I understand that there are distinct and different points of view, whether or not you're a cyclist, or a driver, or sometimes one or the other. And you may well be a cyclist and get angry at other cyclists for the way that they ride, and vice versa. So, therefore, the same principles apply both ways around. If you are a cyclist, and you've got a video recording device, and you get a very near pass, which is very dangerous, and your video recording equipment captures the vehicle in this maneuver, and the license plate. You can submit this footage in exactly the same way, and invite the police to take action on it. The reverse will also be true, although obviously, it will be more difficult for the police to identify who a cyclist is. But, for some reason, it is possible, then your footage can be used to prosecute cyclists as well. So I hope you find this is an interesting concept, where drivers can and certainly do report each other for careless, and dangerous driving, and other road regulation contraventions. If on the other hand, you want to take a less aggressive approach, and you just want an opinion as to who was right and wrong, you can send your video to me. And with the appropriate anonymization and declaration that it is not in active proceedings, I am fully prepared to give you my views on the standards of other road users’ driving. So if you like that idea, please give this video a big thumbs up. Don't forget to subscribe, and obviously send me your content. Don't forget to check out the courses on blackbeltbarrister.com and the channel memberships, which you can see with the join button below this video, if you're not already a member. Thank you to all those that have already signed up as a member, I am very grateful. And it certainly encourages me to continue creating content for you to enjoy and in the meantime, stay humble and subscribe.