On-board cameras are now being formally brought into the criminal justice system. Videos of any illegal or dangerous incidents that cyclists encounter can now be submitted online for investigation.
Operation Snap in Wales will now take cyclist videos for investigation
A groundbreaking new scheme has been launched in Wales which could bring a cultural change to behaviour on the roads there.
Now cyclists who use onboard, or GoPro, cameras can submit footage of incidents online as evidence.
Videos of incidents – including close passes, crashes and road rage – can be sent to the police via the new Operation Snap website.
And when submitting video or photo evidence, victims or witnesses can also provide the police with a lot more detail.
All of the identification and contact details of the person making the complaint and submitting the video or photo evidence are also inputted.
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Furthermore, the location of the incident is included, along with details of the vehicle involved.
A full – legally binding – statement must also be included.
If it is proven to be false or deliberately embellished, the person behind it can be prosecuted for making a false statement.
And the victim or witness can also indicate in their submission if they would be willing to attend court to give evidence.
The new scheme means that anyone with footage effectively becomes a DIY investigator, or evidence gatherer.
In Ireland no such scheme exists. And cycling campaigners have been critical of what they say has been Garda inaction in the face of serial offending on the roads.
For example, the I Bike Dublin campaign recently asked cyclists to submit details of illegal parking on cycle lanes during a one week period.
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And during that week more examples of alleged illegal parking was identified than the number of offences detected by the Garda nationwide in a year.
While the Welsh scheme does not cover illegal parking; the I Bike Dublin experiment does underline how much offending cyclists with cameras could identify on the roads if a Welsh-style scheme were launched in Ireland.
Under the new system in Wales, anyone with a camera, not just cyclists, can submit evidence online.
Any video recorded on a camera from vehicle dashcams, bike cameras, or cyclists’ helmetcams can be submitted.
“Police officers cannot be everywhere, as much as they try, but with Operation Snap the police could be anywhere,” said Inspector Steve Davies of South Wales Police.
“The aim of this initiative is to change driver behaviour and their mindset behind the wheel.
“We want drivers to ask themselves two questions: firstly, am I being recorded? And secondly, do I really want to take that chance?”
Because so much detail about offences is submitted at the same time as the video or photo evidence, the Welsh police will start their investigation into each of the complaints with a large volume of detailed information.
One of the really interesting aspects of the new Operation Snap online facility is that it is a collaboration between four police forces.
Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police, North Wales Police and South Wales Police are all involved. And their scheme is supported by the Crown Prosecution Service; the British DPP.
Better outcomes may result
It means all four police forces will learn from each other’s cases. And a uniform approach should emerge to dealing with cases.
Cyclists in both Ireland and Britain often experience very different responses from the police, or Garda, when they submit video or photo evidence.
At times the evidence leads to a prosecution. But in other cases cyclists are left disappointed at what they see as inaction in the face of overwhelming evidence of law-breaking.
The new scheme should also allow huge volumes of complaints to be dealt with much more quickly by the police.
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