[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/dash-cam-footage-increasingly-used-in-convictions\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/dash-cam-footage-increasingly-used-in-convictions\/","headline":"Dash Cam Footage Increasingly Used in Convictions","name":"Dash Cam Footage Increasingly Used in Convictions","description":"You may not have even heard of the National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDSP) before, but it exists. The scheme allows anyone to upload recorded footage to a dedicated website which they believe to be an incident worth investigation by police. You first choose your area in the UK, and this will dictate which police force receives the footage. It sounds like a great idea to catch criminal behaviour doesn\u2019t it, yet there is criticism of the website \u2013 but […]","datePublished":"2020-03-13","dateModified":"2020-03-13","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/#Person","name":"Isabelle Lawrence","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/","identifier":30,"description":"Max Wheeler is a leading motoring journalist and classic car specialist at Smart Motoring, renowned for his sharp insight and infectious passion for all things automotive. With years of experience covering motoring news, supercars, and the enduring legacy of classic cars, Max brings stories to life with style and authority. Whether it\u2019s the roar of a Lamborghini, the elegance of an Aston Martin DB5, or the cultural impact of vintage motoring icons, he delivers expert commentary that inspires enthusiasts and collectors alike. Dedicated to celebrating the heritage and future of driving, Max Wheeler is your trusted voice for classic car news and beyond.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Smart Motoring","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dash-Cam-Footage-feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dash-Cam-Footage-feature.jpg","height":520,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/dash-cam-footage-increasingly-used-in-convictions\/","about":["BLOG","Cars","LATEST CAR NEWS"],"wordCount":935,"keywords":["Dash Cam","dash cam portal"],"articleBody":" You may not have even heard of the National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDSP) before, but it exists. The scheme allows anyone to upload recorded footage to a dedicated website which they believe to be an incident worth investigation by police. You first choose your area in the UK, and this will dictate which police force receives the footage. It sounds like a great idea to catch criminal behaviour doesn\u2019t it, yet there is criticism of the website \u2013 but why?Nextbase, who look after the NDSP website, has released somefigures which has pushed the scheme into the forefront of the news. They saythat 50% of uploaded video footage has resulted in a conviction. That may be abit of a surprise to a cynical public, who might expect that only a smallproportion of uploaded content would even be looked at, let alone used as partof a case against an individual.Recently, BBC documentary series Inside Out revealed that the Nextbase portal has seen around 10,000 uploads with 5,000 of those being used by police to secure a conviction; though impressive as this might be, only 28 of the UK\u2019s 39 police forces are so far signed up to the scheme. I suspect this number might now rise. There are approximately 37 million vehicles on the roads inthe UK; surely a number that is impossible to police 100% effectively, so howcould there possibly be any objection to such a technologically advancedscheme? Automotive journalist Quentin Wilson is a supporter of the Nextbaseportal, saying that we need \u2018an army of eyes\u2019 to assist the police, citing thedash cam as a deterrent as well as something to be used as evidence after theevent. Preventing crime is a key objective of our law enforcers of course, butwith dash cams not presently being a mandatory accessory for public usevehicles, the argument is that a criminal being aware of dash cams might evenmake those automobiles without them more vulnerable \u2013 presuming they arecapable of recording all the time of course and not just when the engine is onand an occupant is present.Detractors have also suggested that this might eventually result in less traffic police on our roads, arguing that traffic police are the biggest criminal deterrent of all. Another argument is that the figure of 10,000 is just the tip of an as yet unknown iceberg; as more and more people upload suspected video \u2018evidence\u2019, what sort of manpower will be required to keep the scheme workable?The website caters for dangerous driving, driving withoutdue care and attention and using a mobile phone illegally among other things.Video footage doesn\u2019t directly have to be the result of a dash cam either – mobilephone\/camera footage is also acceptable as long as it pertains to a relevant incident.An interesting point to note is that Nextcam felt the need to add in that poorfootage cannot be enhanced to produce a clean image and therefore identify aperson or a number plate if not already clear in the original footage \u2013 nodoubt as a result of what we have seen miraculously occur in numerous police,spy and surveillance movies such as Enemyof the State. The bottom line is simply that if the image data is not therein the first place, no amount of enhancing will reveal what doesn\u2019t exist.There\u2019s no doubt that we have come a long way in a relatively short space of time. We are at a stage where even the most rudimentary phone will have a reasonable quality camera (it\u2019s all about the sensor rather than pixel counts, but that\u2019s another matter), and there are more than 3 billion users worldwide according to Statistica, and thus the NDSP scheme becomes workable \u2013 as long as it doesn\u2019t get overloaded.The monitoring of our roads and motoring will always havedetractors, from those simply arguing that any form of camera monitoring is anod towards Big Brother, to those who are worried about knock-on effects. Westill have plenty who detest the speed camera; yet stay within legal limits andthere is surely nothing to fear from them.There are growing arguments being made in favour of kitting out all new cars with dash cams routinely, and with the technology becoming ever more portable, we have seen cyclists and now even runners using the likes of GoPro to record their road-going journeys. My own thoughts are that the website is a good idea, and the use of a dash cam is nothing to worry about and just might make a legitimate case against illegal activity more sound. It\u2019s worth noting though that if you are a company and use a dash cam on your work vehicle during working hours, you might be required to pay an ICO annual data protection fee to comply with the latest GDPR rules.Although the fear is that the Nextbase website will inevitably become overwhelmed, the site does have a series of guidelines to familiarise yourself with before uploading a video in an attempt to make the user self-regulate. Though in a world where the threat of a pandemic results in the mass buying of toilet rolls, I wonder how many will bother to check through these guidelines in the first place, so the real question is this: do the resources exist to allow the National Dash Cam Safety Portal to organically grow?Save up to 20% off your car or van insurance and receive a FREE dash cam! Click here to get a quote with Motor-Vision Insurance today! 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