Scheme officially launched for road users to report dangerous incidents

Hampshire Constabulary is today officially launching its Hants SNAP scheme aimed at using submitted footage of dangerous incidents to protect road users across the region.

The scheme has been through a near year-long pilot from August last year to June this year, during which we focused on incidents which placed the most vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians, at risk.

Now, we are opening up the scheme to cover all road users and offences for which people can submit footage.

Under the scheme, footage of dangerous incidents can be submitted via an online portal. This can be from a dash cam, head cam or other recording device that is being legally used.

The footage must meet the below criteria:
- It must be reported within seven days
- Should not be edited
- Should not have been deleted from your device
- Should not be shared on social media
- Needs to show between one to two minutes either side of the incident
- If it is from a collision, or an offence not listed in the criteria set out on the submission portal, then it will need to be reported by calling 101, or online via our force website.

Along with the footage, people will submit a witness statement and will be required to answer some basic questions to support their statement.

Once we have received this, it will be reviewed by trained decision makers to assess whether any offences have been committed.

They will consider whether action is proportionate and if there is sufficient evidence to prosecute any person involved.

For those we do prosecute, outcomes could include an educational course, fixed penalty notice, court prosecution or a warning letter.

Summary Justice Unit manager Conor Curtis said: “Those who drive carelessly or dangerously on our roads will have action taken against them.

“We have already dealt with a range of offences, including driving without due care and attention, failing to comply with a red light and driving on a hard shoulder.

“As we increase the scope of the initiative, we continue to see examples of these incidents.

“In the majority of cases where we do take action, the person submitting the footage won’t need to do anything further, and wouldn’t be contacted by us again. We will only get in touch with people if a case is prosecuted at court, which is a small percentage.

“Hants SNAP enables us to protect all road users that need our help and to save lives.”

During the pilot (August 5 to June 30), we received 261 submissions, with formal action being taken in 29 per cent of these.

Of the submissions, five resulted in full criminal investigation.

This also led to:
- 26 per cent of submissions involving cyclists leading to formal action
- 46 per cent of incidents involving pedestrians leading to formal action

Since the start of July, we have also received a further 216 submissions, with formal action in just under half of these so far (46 per cent).

Road Safety Sergeant Scott Kerr said: “We are unable to be everywhere at all times, but with the SNAP scheme, we can now be anywhere.

“We are asking drivers who commit offences – is it worth the risk? We don’t think so and our aim is to spread the message and educate as many people as possible to help improve the safety of our roads across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.”

Footage can be submitted by going to https://hants-snap-police.egressforms.com or via the Force website.