Police force criticised for one close pass prosecution from 286 submissions admits need to review how reports are managed

West Midlands Police's processing of public-reported video footage showing driving offences "is currently under review", the force admitted, after it recently came under criticism when a news story on this website revealed that 286 cyclist close pass submissions had resulted in just one prosecution.

Data released by the force in response to a Freedom of Information request, by Chris Smith, showed that of the 286 reports of careless, inconsiderate, or dangerous driving around cyclists considered by West Midlands Police in 2022, only one resulted in a prosecution. Of the alleged close passes, 213 resulted in no further action, while 69 were offered a National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) course as an alternative to prosecution.

The FOI request also showed that 5,551 submissions of video evidence relating to potential driving offences were received by West Midlands Police in 2022, over 2,000 more than the number submitted in 2020, and almost 1,800 more than 2021.

Hinting at the strain on resources, West Midlands Police noted that reviews take an "average of 60 minutes to run from receipt to conclusion", and are currently carried out by three business support assistants.

However, in a statement given to Birmingham Live, the force has now accepted the need to adapt to the increased submissions and said "this process is currently under review".

"We have seen a 50 per cent increase in third-party reporting over the last two years. This process is currently under review around how we can manage the rise in these submissions," a spokesperson said.

"We are committed to keeping our roads and road users including cyclists and pedestrians across the West Midlands safe. In 2016, we introduced 'Operation Close Pass' an initiative that targets drivers who endanger cyclists by driving without due care and attention.

"The initiative not only enforces safety on our roads, but it also educates drivers. We continue to carry out these operations and have some planned along the Chester Road area in the coming weeks.

"We also have an online portal on our website where members of the public can upload evidence of irresponsible driving such as photo or video footage. The material is then reviewed to see if it breaches road safety and if it does, we will look to seek prosecution."

"More support would improve the level of feedback, improve the quality of submitted videos and raise confidence in the system"

When the extent of the lack of prosecutions was revealed in April, the West Midlands' cycling and walking commissioner Adam Tranter wrote to the force's chief constable, Simon Guildford, raising concerns.

Tranter did not receive a reply but explained how he had praised the force's previously innovative road safety work such as Operation Close Pass, whereby plain clothes officers on bikes monitor overtaking drivers, with anyone found to be carrying out dangerous manoeuvres facing education or enforcement.

Along with the praise, Tranter said he had raised the "concerning" prosecution figures and suggested an increase in resources would help.

"These recent figures are concerning and point to a lack of available resource to process reports from members of the public," he said. "It is clear that third-party submissions are rising...I know there have been some concerns from the force about the feasibility of staffing this as it continues to upscale.

"However, third-party submissions have huge potential as a cost-effective deterrent against poor driving, especially given the fact that traffic officers cannot be everywhere.

"At present the team looking at submissions has one senior post and two business support assistants, he said. More support would improve the level of feedback, improve the quality of submitted videos and raise confidence in the system."

Operation Close Pass was run 22 times in 15 different locations between August 2020 and December 2022, resulting in 211 close passing or dangerous drivers being stopped, with 145 being offered education and advice related to safe driving around cyclists, while 66 were processed.

Of the third-party reported footage, of which 5,551 submissions were made to West Midlands Police in 2022, only 872 – or just under 16 per cent – of those reports resulted in a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) being issued to the driver in question, 593 and 338 fewer than in 2021 and 2020 respectively, when fewer reports were submitted.

In newly reported data, 301 submissions in January of this year resulted in five drivers being prosecuted for careless driving or using a mobile phone, while 41 were offered education courses and two received fixed penalty notices (both mobile phone offences).

The now-under-review third-party reporting process comes amid a backdrop of wider road safety concerns for vulnerable road users in the West Midlands, with two cyclists killed by hit-and-run drivers in Birmingham since mid-May. 

On Friday, Tranter wrote a letter to police and local authority colleagues, calling for an urgent meeting with colleagues to bring about accelerated action to protect vulnerable road users.

On Thursday, a 36-year-old man was arrested over the death of a cyclist in his 40s on Chester Road, in Erdington on Wednesday afternoon, an incident which came two weeks after another cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run collision on Belgrave Middleway near the city centre.

In the hours after publishing a copy of his letter on social media, Tranter said he was "devastated" to hear that another cyclist had been rushed to hospital with serious injuries sustained in a collision involving a car being driven at the junction of Aston Lane and Birchfield Road on Friday afternoon.

"We cannot accept this as normal," Tranter said.