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BDR / Evidence & investigations / Dashcam & bodycam evidence

Evidence & investigations · dashcam & bodycam

The camera saw it. Now make it count.

Dashcams and bodycams turn disputes into evidence — provided the clip survives, plays, and reaches the right desk in time. We recover deleted and corrupted footage from cards and units, and package it for police submission or the insurer's file.

No fix, no fee on recovery jobs Evidence-grade handling Act fast — loops overwrite

Talk it through, in confidence
01273 964902

The road from clip to consequence.

Operation SnapThe police route for public footage of driving offences — dashcam, helmet cam or CCTV — run force by force through the national portal. Sussex Police takes submissions.
The 14-day clockA notice of intended prosecution must reach a vehicle's registered keeper within 14 days of the offence — which is why forces ask for footage within days, not weeks. Check Sussex Police's current window and move.
What you'll be askedThe offending vehicle's registration, a witness statement, and willingness — in principle — to attend court. The footage does the talking; you vouch for it.
Bodycams at workBusiness and security bodycams process personal data: signage, a lawful basis and retention limits apply, and evidential handling mirrors CCTV — hashes, continuity, original files kept.

What you're seeing, decoded.

Not sure? Ask us →
The situationWhat it meansFirst move
Clip deleted from the dashcam's cardFlash deletion — recoverable if the card stops being usedTake the card out now
Card kept recording after the incidentLoop recording is overwriting, same as CCTVStop the camera today
Clip corrupted or won't playInterrupted writes or card faults — usually repairableDon't re-record over it
Locked or 'event' files you can't exportProtected files in the camera's own formatWe extract and convert them
Bodycam unit damaged or deadFootage lives in its storage, not the casingUnit imaged, files recovered
Police or insurer needs it — properlyOriginal files plus a playable copy, documentedOur standard evidence bundle
Getting it to us: devices and drives travel tracked and fully insured to our secure intake lab — free return postage — or start by phone and we'll agree the safest route for your matter. Details on the contact page.

How the work runs, stage by stage.

See recent cases →
01

Booked in, diagnosed free Free

Your device is logged with its own case reference the moment it arrives. An engineer assesses the fault, confirms what's actually recoverable, and you get a fixed price in writing — no diagnosis fee, no obligation, and no paid work until you say go.

Free diagnosisFixed written quoteNo obligation
02

Secure the card or unit

The SD card or bodycam is imaged before anything else — locked event files unlocked from the image, originals preserved untouched.

Card / unit imagedEvent files unlocked
03

Recover and repair the clip

Deleted clips are recovered and corrupted ones repaired from the image — dashcam cards respond like any flash media, provided they arrive before the loop or reuse takes them.

Deleted clips recoveredCorrupt files repaired
04

Route it right

For offences, footage goes to Sussex Police via Operation Snap — promptly, because the 14-day prosecution-notice clock is unforgiving. For claims, the insurer bundle mirrors our CCTV export: playable copy, original files, hashes, method note.

Operation Snap ready14-day clock flagged
05

Verified, returned, signed off

Before you pay the recovery fee you approve a full listing of what came back. Your data returns on new media with free return postage, and the case only closes once you've confirmed everything opens on your side.

File listing approvalNew media includedFree return postage

What the lab holds to

  • Dashcam loops are shorter than people think — a busy commute card can wrap in days; the incident clip is safest out of the camera within hours.
  • Locked files aren't safe files — 'protected' event clips still die when a card fails or gets reformatted; they just die with a padlock icon.
  • Portal figures come from the portal's operator — the widely quoted claim that most submissions lead to police action originates with the portal provider; encouraging, but read it as their number.
  • Original files beat exports — the camera's own file, metadata intact, is worth more evidentially than any re-encoded copy, however pretty.

The deadline that decides these cases: a notice of intended prosecution must reach the registered keeper within 14 days of a driving offence — which is why UK forces ask for dashcam submissions within the first days and why Sussex Police publishes its current window. Footage recovered on day twelve can still convict; footage recovered on day twenty rarely gets the chance.

From the casebook.

EX · BDR-2026-0563VERIFIED ✓

A Shoreham haulier's dashcam, deleted by the driver involved

The clip of a depot collision vanished from the cab camera overnight — deleted, not overwritten, as the card's image showed. Recovered, repaired and packaged with hashes the same week, it settled both the insurance question and the HR one.

Clip recovered intactSame-week bundle

Before it reaches us.

Do

  • Pull the SD card and stop the camera
  • Keep locked or event files exactly as they are
  • Note time, place and registrations while fresh
  • Submit driving-offence footage within days, not weeks

Don't

  • Keep driving on the same card
  • Delete other clips to tidy the card
  • Trim or edit before police or insurers see it
  • Sit on offence footage past the first few days

Asked in confidence, answered honestly.

Is dashcam footage admissible in court?

Generally yes, where it's relevant and authentic — original files, intact metadata and a clear account of handling are what authenticity rests on.

Where do I send dashcam footage of a driving offence?

To Sussex Police via Operation Snap and the national dash cam portal. Have the registration ready, expect to sign a statement, and submit quickly — the prosecution-notice window is 14 days from the offence.

Can deleted dashcam footage be recovered?

Often — dashcam SD cards behave like any flash media, so a deleted clip survives until the loop or reuse overwrites it. Card out, camera off, and the odds stay good.

Do work bodycams have special rules?

They process personal data, so UK GDPR applies: a lawful basis, visible signage where practical, retention limits and secure handling. Evidentially, treat clips like CCTV — originals kept, copies hashed.

Evidence doesn't wait. Neither should you.

Loops overwrite, artefacts age, deadlines pass. Open a case first — the scoping conversation is free and confidential either way.

01273 964902