TrevA wrote:... If I were to photograph these miscreants caught in the act, would the police accept my photo as evidence of lawbreaking?
If unlawful mobile phone use were a priority, then more police would be "tasked" with enforcement. The most effective way to do that, both in terms of getting the evidence and cost-efficiency is for police to stop the alleged offender at the time: this normally establishes the driver's identity immediately, confirms that the object in question is a mobile phone and gives the driver the least time to concoct some story. An obvious problem is that the driver may decide to scarper, especially if they have more serious things on their mind such as a suspended sentence for being a disqualified driver. That might lead to a chase which is a "bad thing" especially for something so trivial as "motoring offences." Broadly, that approach allows a ticket to be issued and the requirement for more paperwork only normally arises if the ticket is not paid or more offences are revealed. One problem here is that just emphasising that phone use is the biggy means that other things might be missed.
Compare that with pics from members of the public. They could only serve to trigger enquiries, starting with notices to the keeper requiring details of the driver which would have to be followed up by a personal interview and so on. Theoretically possible but a non-starter. I suppose a lot of members of the public taking pics might act as a deterrent but it might just as easily provoke some violence. Who knows?