Changes to Met guidance on online reporting

Interesting changes to automated response to Met Police RTI reports

1) "It is anticipated that in the near future we will be able to provide a link which will publish case status updates"

This is a very welcome development. It's always been a bit arbitrary whether you got any update on case status. No update means it's very hard to tell if it's been worth your while bothering to report something. Being able to access updates will solve that- as well as enabling those who report to understand what type of evidence/offences are actioned vs. not and tailor their efforts accordingly.

2) Some of the guidance seems conflicting e.g. "We will not accept footage edited in any way" and, immediately after" please do not submit footage containing anything you are not willing to be shared. This includes things such as your home/work address, facial images of yourself/family or your vehicle registration mark (VRM)"

Combined, this is an unacceptable limitation on reporting. You should be able to blur out your own face or personal details if you don't wish them to be shared with an offending driver. The solution should be to allow editing to blur this out, but on the condition that the original unblurred footage is retained for the police to request if they or the court need it.

3) Unless there are extenuating circumstances please only submit a maximum of 2 pieces of footage no longer than 3 minutes in length to support your statement.

Quite a change from the previous "2 mins before and after required". A good move - and no doubt driven by the increasing number of reports and file size of 4K (or higher) footage. This is good IMO and will make reporting much easier. I never paid much attention to the 2 mins before and after, certainly for phone driving reports - and it was never an issue. Should prevent the system being clogged up with unecessary footage.

4) We do not require supporting photographs as these will not be considered when making a case disposal decision

This is short sighted in my opinion. I often export a frame or two to submit as stills to provide a ready view of e.g. phone held in hand, or the VRM - especially if (as is sometimes the case) the VRM is only visible in one frame. This can only help speed up their processing of a report.

5) If the date/time stamp on the footage is incorrect and does not reflect the date/time of the incident reported, the case will not be proceeded with

This is nonsense, and is a matter for educating courts / CPS not for rejecting case reports. It is easily demonstrable that cycle camera date/timestamps easily become misaligned if e.g. the camera runs out of battery and doesn't have a means to automatically set the time/date stamp. There should just be a standardised response available to reject any lawyer who challenges on the basis of such a date/time stamp.

The net result of this is that it is very important for ALL cyclists reporting with camera footage to turn off any date/time stamp function, because it is now solely a source of risk that their report will not be processed.

7) Due to the decriminalisation of a large number of traffic offences we are unable to deal with ... the majority of offences relating to contravention of road traffic signs. This includes ... “one-way street” and “no left/right turn” signs"

So basically these signs are all now suggestions rather than requirements? That's .... an interesting approach. I wonder how long it will take drivers to realise that they now have carte blanche to drive the wrong way up one-way streets ... ?
8) Do not seek to actively confront, reprimand or engage with drivers/riders in any way. If your conduct is deemed to be aggressive, unacceptable or does not conform to the Met Police values, cases will not be proceeded with
I understand the intention here - but it feels there is a strong possibility this will end up being used to reject cases where e.g. a close pass generates an instinctive fear/anger response. Or where a polite "please don't use your phone while driving" comment has been made.

Interested in the thoughts of others!