Op Snap in North Yorkshire

This is my experience of Operation Snap in North Yorkshire.

TL;DR

Op Snap enables members of the public to submit video footage of driving offences to police via an online portal.

Anyone who makes utility trips by bike around town will encounter bad driving on a regular basis. The daily low-level harassment, and the occasional dangerous or frightening incident, are enough to put most people off cycling at all.

Op Snap has the potential to be a game-changer. Finally, someone in authority does care and will do something about lawless driving.

Unfortunately, Op Snap is not working properly in North Yorkshire. The police feel they don’t have the resources to deal with submissions. Often they let the time limit expire without taking any action.

The only time they do respond within the time limit is when they make excuses for the driver and take No Further Action. Given the context, it is likely that their decision-making is influenced by the wish or need to avoid doing the work involved in taking Positive Action.

How Op Snap Should Work

Operation Snap enables members of the public to submit video footage of driving offences to the police.

The person submitting the footage must do so within 10 days of the incident, because the police only have 14 days to serve a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP).

The police ask that the video submitted include 1 minute before and 1 minute after the incident.

When submitting footage there’s also a statement to complete, with details of what happened. You have to agree to attend court if necessary.

The police web page promises that every report will be assessed:

‘Every piece of footage sent to Op Snap is reviewed by specially-trained staff.’

north yorkshire police op snap web page

The police then tell you if they are going to take Positive Action – educational letters, courses, training, penalty points and/or fine and court attendance – or if they are going to take No Further Action.

Why Op Snap Should Be Brilliant for People on Bikes

For anyone who makes utility trips by bike, drivers are the main hazard.

Much driving behaviour around people on bikes is low-level harassment, intimidation and disregard for your safety. Occasionally there is scarier dangerous driving that puts you in physical danger.

Unless you’re absolutely determined to keep getting around town by bike, you’ll be put off by drivers.

In North Yorkshire, we have learned that the council doesn’t care and will not provide safe, convenient facilities for cycling. There is no police presence on the roads in towns.

Drivers can break the law. They can ignore the rules of the road. They can and will close pass you, and if you object they will never ever accept that they are in the wrong. Worst case scenario, you’ll be verbally abused or physically threatened.

Essentially, the roads in town are the Wild West, with no enforcement of the rules.

You learn how to ride your routes, where the problems will arise, and how best you can avoid them most of the time. You have to be alert and assertive.

Then you find out that you can submit video footage, and the police will take action. That’s a game-changer.

No need to raise your voice or object to the latest episode of dangerous driving. Just video it and submit it to the police, and they will deal with it.

Finally, you’re not on your own – someone in authority does have your back, and will take it seriously.

Apart from the feeling of reassurance, you can gradually pick off the worst drivers on your routes. If they’ve been sent a warning letter or a NIP, they may think twice next time.

Does Op Snap Work in North Yorkshire?

Unfortunately, Op Snap isn’t working in North Yorkshire.

I submitted a few of the worst close passes to which I had been subjected in March 2023 (phase 1), and the response from the police was ‘Positive Action’. I felt supported. I felt it was worth going through the process.

Then from early April onwards (phase 2), there was no reply to my submissions within the time limit for action. After the time limit for action had expired, I sometimes got an email to say that due to resources issues, they had not assessed the submission. In other cases, I got no reply at all.

Finally (phase 3), the police took a dual approach:

• no response if the driving was clearly illegal (e.g. ignoring Left Turn Only)
• an email response of No Further Action where they could find excuses for the bad driving, effectively siding with the dangerous driver

This is an example of a clear road traffic offence – ignoring the Left Turn Only at the bottom of Beech Grove – where North Yorkshire Police did not reply within the time limit.

Losing Confidence

I’ve lost confidence in Op Snap in North Yorkshire for several reasons.

1) Inconsistency

A close pass in March 2023 resulted in Positive Action. A very similar overtake in May 2023 was not a close pass and apparently should not have been submitted.

This is the close pass in May.

It was clear to me that there was insufficient space for the Uber driver in the video to overtake, and they should have waited. What was clear to me was not clear to the driver. The police sided with the driver, and I feel they let me down.

If that isn’t a close pass, what would be?

This brings me on to my next point, the motivation behind the police decision-making.

2) Motivation Behind Police Decision-Making

The police response above is honest. They’ve had an increase in the number of submissions, and they just can’t deal with them.

I’m speculating, but I suspect the absolute numbers of submissions are low, and the numbers of police staff dealing with them are also low – possibly one civilian.

Could one extra member of the public making submissions overwhelm them? Perhaps.

This is the context in which, in some cases, the police are making excuses for close-passing drivers and refusing to take action.

In cases where there is no element of subjective judgement (e.g. ignoring the Left Turn Only), the police are not taking Positive Action – they are not responding at all.

Because of that context, I’m not convinced that a good-faith assessment of the close pass incidents has been made. It seems likely that at least part of the motivation for the No Further Action decisions is that they avoid the work involved in committing to Positive Action.

That in turn corrodes trust in the decision-makers and in Op Snap itself.

3) It’s Different in West Yorkshire

By contrast, anecdotally the situation is very different in West Yorkshire.

If you make a close pass submission in West Yorkshire, you will get a response, and you won’t be fobbed off with excuses for the bad driving.

Op Snap is Important and Deserves Resources

Op Snap has a big role to play in supporting people who do the right thing and get around town by sustainable means.

If the police can make us feel supported, and make it clear to drivers that there are consequences for bullying, harassing or endangering people on bikes, this will have a positive effect.

It’s part of what’s needed to enable modal shift.

I would like to see North Yorkshire Police give Op Snap the resources needed to deal with submissions properly.

Back to the Wild West

For the moment, it’s clear to me that Op Snap submissions will not be dealt with properly in North Yorkshire.

Either I’ll get excuses for the bad driving, or there will be no response at all. In those circumstances, obviously I’m not going to bother. Clearly this suits the police.

Until things change, it’s back to the Wild West.