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 cam

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. 

dash cam map
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.”