Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has issued an update on his campaign to ringfence money raised from fixed penalty notices issued to drivers here in the West Midlands.
The PCC wants the money to be kept here rather than sent to Government coffers. He wants it used to fund road safety schemes here in the West Midlands.
Speaking at his monthly Accountability and Government Board meeting, the PCC revealed more than £2.3m has been sent to government since the start of 2024.
PCC Simon Foster said: “In the 2024 calendar year £2,053,430 has, so far, been passed on to the treasury by West Midlands Police, after collecting fixed penalty fines issued for motoring offences in the region. This included fixed penalty fines issued for speeding and non-speeding offences.
“This year a similar story is already emerging.
“West Midlands Police has already had to send £287,950 to the treasury in fixed penalty notices issued in our region. £252,600 related to fines collected from speeding drivers and £35,350 was collected for non-speed related motoring offences.
“This money should not be going to central government. I will continue with my campaign for retention of this revenue in the West Midlands. I will continue to reiterate this point to the government.
“It is essential that revenue generated from road related penalty fines, is retained within the region that the crime was committed. It can then be invested in preventing and tackling crime and anti-social behaviour and reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads, due to people driving at unlawful, excessive, careless, dangerous and reckless speeds.
“This money could pay for the expansion of the average speed camera network and additional enforcement, buying more mobile police speed camera vans or even new speed enforcement devices.
“In the West Midlands, we have committed to halving the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads by 2030 and we aim to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries by 2040.
“We need the government to step up and back our commitment. The government can do that by allowing us to retain fines for all road related offences locally, which would better enable us to reduce the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads and keep the roads of the West Midlands safe for all of us.”
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