Investigations & evidence · in-car and worn cameras
A body-worn or in-car camera can settle an argument outright — but only if the file survives, opens, and gets in front of the right person in time. We pull deleted and damaged footage off cards and units, then prepare it for the police or a claims handler.
Speak to us in confidence
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| The complaint | What that tells you | First step |
|---|---|---|
| The clip was erased from the camera's card | A flash delete — still retrievable while nothing new is written | Eject the card straight away |
| The camera carried on filming afterwards | The loop is overwriting, just like a DVR | Switch the unit off now |
| Damaged clip that won't open | A broken write or a failing card — often fixable | Record nothing further on it |
| Protected 'event' clips that won't come off the unit | Locked recordings held in a proprietary camera format | We lift them out and convert |
| Bodycam broken or lifeless | The video sits on the internal memory, not the shell | Device imaged, clips retrieved |
| An insurer or the force wants it right | Camera originals, a viewable copy, documented | The bundle we supply as standard |
As soon as it lands with us, your device gets its own case number. An engineer works out the fault, says what can genuinely be pulled off, then puts one fixed price in writing — no charge for diagnosis, no obligation, and no chargeable work until you approve it.
Nothing happens until the card or camera is imaged — protected clips are opened from that copy, and the originals are left as they arrived.
Erased footage is carved back out of the image and damaged files mended. A dashcam card behaves like any flash media, provided it reaches us before looping or reuse buries it.
Driving offences go to Hampshire Police through Operation Snap, and quickly — the 14-day notice period leaves no slack. Claims get the same package we build for CCTV: viewable copy, original files, hashes, method note.
You sign off a complete list of the recovered files first; only then does the recovery fee fall due. Everything returns on fresh media, postage paid, and the job stays open until you confirm the files open at your end.
The date that settles most of these: for the offences it covers, the notice of intended prosecution goes out inside 14 days, served on or posted to the driver or registered keeper — and it does not apply where there was an accident. That is why forces across the UK want dashcam submissions in the first few days, and why Hampshire Police states its own cut-off. A clip recovered on day twelve can still lead to a conviction; one found on day twenty seldom gets that chance.
Footage of a bump in the depot yard was no longer on the cab camera next morning. Imaging the card showed it deleted, not overwritten. Recovered, repaired and handed over with hashes inside the week, it settled the HR question as well as the insurance one.
Usually yes, so long as it's relevant and genuine — authenticity rests on original files, untouched metadata and a clear record of how it was handled.
Send it to Hampshire Police through Operation Snap, the national dash cam portal. Keep the registration to hand, be ready to sign a statement, and move quickly — the prosecution notice must follow within 14 days of the offence.
Frequently, yes. A dashcam's SD card is ordinary flash, so a deleted clip survives until looping or reuse writes over it. Get the card out, leave the camera off, and the odds stay strong.
Personal data passes through them, so UK GDPR applies: a lawful basis, signage on show where workable, limits on retention, secure handling. For evidence, treat clips as you would CCTV — keep originals, hash copies.
Loops write over themselves, traces fade, deadlines run out. Start a case early — scoping it costs nothing and stays confidential.