Avon and Somerset Police received a record number of ‘journey-cam’ submissions in 2025, the vast majority of which came from cyclists, the latest figures from the force show.
The force, also covering Bristol and South Gloucestershire, saw a 23 per cent increase in footage submitted by drivers, cyclists, motorcyclists, and passengers, with cyclists making up more than two thirds of all submissions last year.
According to the figures, 11,282 journey cam reports of dangerous or careless driving were submitted to Avon and Somerset Police in 2025, with 7,674 coming from cyclists.
And in promising news for camera cyclists disgruntled by the lack of response from their own local police force when it comes to close passes and dangerous driving, only 11 percent (870) of the 7,674 recorded submissions from cyclists resulted in no further action being taken, the same rate as 2024.
5,212 warning letters were also issued during 2025, whilst 1,541 incidents met the threshold of a ‘positive outcome’, namely a notice of intention to prosecute.
> Everything you need to know about bike cameras — how to choose, tips for recording quality footage and what to do if you capture a near miss, close pass or collision
This time last year we reported that Avon and Somerset Police had received 8,595 video reports from both cyclists and motorists of alleged road safety incidents, such as close passes, phone driving, and road rage, in 2024, an increase of just over 300 compared to 2023.
2,539 of those resulted in notices of intended prosecution being sent to the drivers responsible, while 5,158 were dealt with through warning letters, meaning almost 90 per cent of all submissions led to “some form of action” being taken.
As we also reported in 2024, Avon and Somerset receives more third-party video reports of dangerous driving than any other police force in England and Wales. Between 2021 and 2024, the force was sent just shy of 20,000 submissions (19,949 in total), with 12,154 of those (61 per cent) coming from cyclists.
4,662 of those led to a Notice of Intended Prosecution being served, with 85 per cent of the reports made by cyclists leading to action being taken, compared to the quarter of submissions from motorists that were dismissed. Almost a third of the force’s reports came from Bristol.
> Police force insists cyclists’ camera footage is taken seriously, after backlash to “no crime had been committed” response to near collision
Following the release of those figures last year, Avon and Somerset’s chief inspector Rob Cheeseman said the force is being sent more footage from cyclists and motorists than ever before.
“I think that’s due to just how more popular certain camera use is, particularly with dashcams in vehicles,” Cheeseman said.
“So more potential offences are being identified by other road users, which are then being submitted to us.”
> Under-fire police force missed 14-day window to take action in two-thirds of reports by cyclists, data reveals
However, due to the ever-increasing volume of clips being submitted through Operation SNAP, Avon and Somerset Police has admitted that it is forced to focus on the “most urgent cases first” – while noting that the third-party reporting tool is not a means to “target drivers unnecessary”.
“It’s certainly something which we’ve had to adapt to,” Cheeseman said of the recent rise in third-party video reporting.
“It’s certainly a more relatively new version of reporting crime to the police. The community is speaking really loudly that these are dangers on the road.
“The goal is not to be targeting drivers unnecessarily – the ultimate goal is making the roads safer for everyone in Avon and Somerset.”
> Surrey Police says warning letters “most appropriate course of action” for majority of driving offences, and calls on cyclists who submit multiple near miss clips to “engage with us further” to improve road safety
Avon and Somerset Police are one of at least 26 police forces that take part in Operation SNAP an online portal, which enables people to upload and submit evidence of driving offences to the police. However, the rate of prosecution and inconsistency of action taken varies widely by region.
After an FOI request in 2023 found that Surrey Police issued warning letters in more than 80 percent of reported incidents, the force told road.cc that it was often “the most appropriate course of action”, due to the “evidential viability” of the submitted videos and the “associated threat, harm, and risk” of the driving offence committed.
And last September we reported that official police data revealed that hundreds of reports showing video footage of alleged dangerous and careless driving on the roads of the West Midlands are being missed by police struggling to process evidence in time.
Of the 2,017 Operation Snap reports made by the public to West Midlands Police in April 2025, 65 per cent failed to have any action taken before the 14-day window police forces have to issue a Notice of Intended Prosecution had passed.