Dangerous Drivers Beware: Calls for Operation Snap to Be Rolled Out Across Teesside...
Cleveland Police Under Pressure to Consider Dashcam Reporting Scheme Already Used in County Durham
14th October 2026
Calls are said to be growing for Cleveland Police to introduce Operation Snap across Teesside amid concerns over declining driving standards, dangerous manoeuvres and motorists apparently ignoring some of the most basic rules of the road.
With dashcams becoming increasingly commonplace in vehicles, questions are being raised as to why motorists in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar cannot benefit from the same dedicated road traffic reporting initiative already operating successfully in numerous other police force areas across England.
Operation Snap allows members of the public to submit dashcam, helmet-camera and other video evidence of suspected driving offences directly to police through a dedicated online reporting system.
The initiative is designed to tackle dangerous and inconsiderate driving by allowing officers to review footage of offences which might otherwise go undetected.
However, despite its adoption by neighbouring Durham Constabulary and forces elsewhere across the country, Cleveland Police has previously confirmed that it does not participate in the scheme..
Driving standards under the spotlight
For many motorists travelling across Teesside, poor driving has becoming an increasingly familiar frustration.
Whether it involves drivers failing to indicate at roundabouts, dangerous overtaking, tailgating, motorists using mobile phones behind the wheel or vehicles travelling through red traffic lights, the concern is that too many potentially dangerous incidents are passing without any consequences.
While such experiences are difficult to quantify, Cleveland Police's own figures demonstrate the scale of road safety problems facing the region.
According to figures released by the force, there were 500 reported road traffic collisions across Cleveland during 2024, resulting in 676 casualties.
Of those injured, 151 suffered serious injuries, while ten people tragically lost their lives.
More recent Freedom of Information figures reveal that police recorded 486 road traffic collisions during 2025.
Although this represents a reduction from the 606 collisions recorded in 2023, the figures still illustrate the continuing dangers faced by road users across the region.
Among the road safety factors recorded during 2025 were 207 instances of ineffective observation, 130 involving poor turns or manoeuvres, 45 involving drivers exceeding the speed limit and 43 involving aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving.
These figures do not necessarily represent separate collisions, as multiple factors can contribute to an individual incident. Nevertheless, they provide further evidence of the types of dangerous behaviour which an initiative such as Operation Snap could help identify.
What exactly is Operation Snap?
Operation Snap is a police initiative which allows ordinary motorists, cyclists and other road users to assist officers in identifying dangerous driving.
Rather than relying entirely on officers witnessing an offence, members of the public can submit video recordings showing suspected breaches of road traffic legislation.
Depending on the evidence provided, officers can investigate offences including dangerous or careless driving, mobile phone use, failing to stop at red traffic lights, crossing solid white lines, driving without proper control and other serious traffic offences..
The footage is then reviewed by trained police personnel, who decide whether further action is justified.
Possible outcomes include educational warning letters, driver improvement courses, fixed penalties or prosecution through the courts.
Importantly, motorists submitting footage are generally required to provide an account of what happened and may be called upon to give evidence if a matter proceeds to court.
The system is not intended to encourage members of the public to pursue or confront other drivers, but instead to make better use of evidence already captured during ordinary journeys.
Neighbouring Durham already operates the scheme
Perhaps one of the strongest arguments for introducing Operation Snap across Teesside is that neighbouring Durham Constabulary already uses the initiative & has found the scheme to be highly successful.
In September 2026, Durham Police actively encouraged motorists, cyclists and horse riders using dashcams or helmet cameras to submit footage of suspected driving offences.
The appeal followed a road safety operation near Blackhall Colliery aimed at improving driver behaviour around horses and their riders, where Durham officers reminded road users that footage clearly showing an offence and the vehicle registration could be submitted to the force through Operation Snap.
Thousands of reports lead to police action elsewhere..
Evidence from other police areas suggests Operation Snap has been highly effective & can generate a significant amount of actionable intelligence.
Figures released by Devon and Cornwall Police in August 2026 revealed that the force received 7,127 submissions during 2025. Of those, 3,187 resulted in positive action, categorised by the force as a Notice of Intended Prosecution or advice letter, while 3,940 resulted in no further action. That means approximately 45% of the submissions received during the year resulted in some form of positive action, while Humberside Police, another force operating Operation Snap, says it receives hundreds of dashcam submissions every month, with footage reviewed by specially trained roads policing officers.
Cleveland Police already targeting dangerous roads users, with varying results
Cleveland Police has introduced other initiatives intended to reduce the number of serious and fatal road collisions, however its successes have been 'mixed'. In May 2025, the force launched a Road Harm Index initiative, targeting locations where collisions were causing particularly serious consequences.
One of the areas identified was Stockton Road, on the A689 near Belle Vue in Hartlepool, with police revealing that, across a three-year period, there had been twelve collisions on the identified stretch of road, including two fatalities.
Speeding had been identified as a contributory factor in 56% of the serious and fatal collisions examined, while alcohol or drugs featured in 44%. During the first month of targeted enforcement, officers detected more than 300 speeding offences on that stretch alone, with one motorist even recorded travelling at 78mph in a 40mph limit.
While such targeted enforcement is undoubtedly important, supporters of the introduction of Operation Snap on Teesside claim the move would offer an additional means of identifying dangerous driving away from established collision hotspots as well as identifying motorists who repeatedly engage in dangerous behaviour on residential streets, roundabouts and other roads where police officers simply cannot maintain a constant presence.
Could dashcams make motorists think twice?
Supporters also claim the potential advantage of Operation Snap is the deterrent effect it could create, with Motorists less inclined to undertake dangerous overtaking manoeuvres, jump traffic lights or intimidate other road users if they know their actions could be recorded and submitted directly to police.
With dashcams increasingly fitted to private vehicles, taxis, commercial vans and lorries, the availability of potential evidence is considerably greater than it once was.
However, the introduction of such a scheme would not mean that every allegation of bad driving automatically resulted in a penalty with Officers saying that they would still need to establish that an offence had taken place and that the evidence met the necessary legal requirements. There would also be questions surrounding the additional resources needed to process footage, investigate allegations and pursue appropriate enforcement action.
Nevertheless, those in support of the scheme could reasonably question whether the potential benefits outweigh the potential additional administrative demands.
Is it Time for Cleveland Police to reconsider?
Cleveland Police's own collision statistics demonstrate that dangerous and careless driving remains a significant concern across Teesside, even though the overall number of reported collisions has fallen in recent years.
Meanwhile, neighbouring police forces are already inviting members of the public to play a more pro-active role in tackling road traffic offences, with the argument on Teesside being that if the technology and reporting arrangements are already being used elsewhere, why should residents in the Cleveland Police force area be left without the same dedicated initiative?
