Can police take your dash cam?

This is a commonly asked question as there are many rules and regulations, as well as grey areas, surrounding the legalities of Dash Cams and their footage. We are going to be addressing the ambiguous question, ‘Can police take your Dash Cam?’. Under the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act 1984 the police CAN take your Dash Cam if they believe footage on it can be used as evidence of, or in relation to an offence.

PACE Section 19 – General power of seizure, states:

(3) The constable may seize anything which is on the premises if he has reasonable grounds for believing—
(a) that it is evidence in relation to an offence which he is investigating or any other offence; and
(b) that it is necessary to seize it in order to prevent the evidence being concealed, lost, altered or destroyed.
(4) The constable may require any information which is stored in any electronic form and is accessible from the premises to be produced in a form in which it can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible or from which it can readily be produced in a visible and legible form if he has reasonable grounds for believing—
(a) that—
(i) it is evidence in relation to an offence which he is investigating or any other offence; or
(ii) it has been obtained in consequence of the commission of an offence; and
(b) that it is necessary to do so in order to prevent it being concealed, lost, tampered with or destroyed.

 

Dash Cam users must be made aware that if they record an incident that implicates themselves, this footage could be used by police against you. If you record an incident whether it implicates you or someone else, deleting the dash cam footage could potentially be a serious offence, so make sure you don’t tamper with it as the police may ask you for it.