The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Simon Foster and the Mayor of the West Midlands have secured overwhelming support from 33 senior leaders across policing, local government and road safety partnerships to call for an urgent review of the UK’s speed enforcement system.
In a powerful joint letter issued to Government this week, leaders are demanding a West Midlands led trial that would see all road safety related fixed penalty fine revenue retained locally to be reinvested directly into preventing and tackling careless, dangerous and reckless driving and reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.
Currently, millions of pounds from road safety related fixed penalty fines go straight to the Treasury, diverted away from the area where the crime is committed.
Meanwhile, local police, councils and road safety partnerships are left to shoulder the cost of installing, running and enforcing speed camera schemes. Many of these are running at a loss – despite evidence that they prevent collisions, reduce the number of people being killed and seriously injured and deliver major community safety benefits.
Simon Foster, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “Preventing and tackling careless, dangerous and reckless driving and reducing the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads is a top priority.
“The current system is broken and unsustainable. That is why the Mayor and I, together with 33 other leaders across policing, government and road safety partnerships, are calling on the Government to allow local areas to use road safety related fixed penalty fine revenue, to be reinvested back into making our roads safer.
“Offenders – not law-abiding drivers and taxpayers – should bear the cost of enforcement. This is about saving lives, preventing and tackling crime, careless, dangerous and reckless driving and building safer communities for everyone.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, is also backing the PCC’s call to Government, adding: “Too many lives are lost or ruined on our roads which is why improving road safety is a priority for me.
“The money collected from speeding and other motoring fines should be reinvested right here in the West Midlands to save lives. Let’s keep those funds local and put them toward making our roads safer and creating a transport system that works better for everyone.”
The joint letter, signed by PCCs, Combined Authorities, Chief Constables, council leaders and road safety organisations, makes clear that the current enforcement model is unsustainable.
Joint Letter – Review of UK Speed Enforcement
Key points include:
- Excessive speed is a factor in one-third of all fatal collisions in the West Midlands.
- Average speed enforcement in the West Midlands region has reduced personal injury collisions by 35.2%, delivering an estimated £15 million socio-economic benefit reducing costs to, for example, insurers, NHS and police and law-abiding motorists.
- Despite this, a recent survey on behalf of West Midlands Combined Authority showed 68% of speed enforcement schemes across UK police forces run at a loss, preventing reinvestment back into the schemes and into wider road safety work.
- Around £2 million in road-related fixed penalty fines leaves the West Midlands each year for the Treasury, while local enforcement schemes face deficits of approximately £2.2 million annually.
The signatories are calling for:
- An urgent review of the speed enforcement system in the UK.
- A trial in the West Midlands to retain all road-related fixed penalty fine revenue and reinvest it into road and community safety.
- A fair system where offenders, not law-abiding drivers and taxpayers, fund enforcement – consistent with the ‘polluter pays’ principle and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
- Sustainable funding to expand proven, high-value road safety measures across the UK.
At its heart, this campaign is about a shared ambition: to reduce the number of people tragically and avoidably killed or seriously injured on our roads, while also tackling crime, anti-social behaviour and careless, dangerous and reckless driving.
The letter was sent to Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood, Home Secretary, and Lillian Greenwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Transport), with copies supplied to Rt Hon Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, and Alison McGovern, Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Signatories to the Joint Letter on Speed Enforcement Reform
The following 35 leaders from policing, local government and road safety organisations have signed PCC Simon Foster’s joint letter calling for reform of the UK’s speed enforcement system and a West Midlands-led trial of retaining road-related fine revenue:
- Simon Foster – Police and Crime Commissioner, West Midlands
- Richard Parker – Mayor of the West Midlands
- Wasim Ali – Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, West Midlands
- Mat MacDonald – West Midlands Road Safety Commissioner, WMCA
- Joy Allen – PCC for Durham; APCC Roads Safety & Roads Policing Joint-Portfolio Lead
- Philip Seccombe – PCC for Warwickshire; APCC Roads Safety & Roads Policing Joint-Portfolio Lead
- Jo Shiner KPM – Chief Constable, Sussex Police; NPCC Lead for Roads Policing
- Adrian Andrew – Deputy Leader, Portfolio Holder for Prosperous Places and Investment, Walsall Council
- Alexander Franklin-Smith – Chief Constable, Warwickshire Police
- Alison Hernandez – PCC for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
- Alison Lowe OBE – Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Catherine Roper – Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police
- Charlotte Chirico – Deputy PCC for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
- Chris Nelson – PCC for Gloucestershire
- Craig Guildford QPM VR DL – Chief Constable, West Midlands Police
- Dan Price – PCC for Cheshire
- Donna Jones – PCC for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
- Emily Spurrell – PCC for Merseyside
- Emma Wools – PCC for South Wales; Chair of Policing in Wales (with support from PCCs for Dyfed Powys, Gwent, and North Wales)
- Helen Godwin – Mayor, West of England Combined Authority
- Howard Jones – CEO, RoadPeace
- John Tizard – PCC for Bedfordshire
- Kate Green – Deputy Mayor, Safer and Stronger Communities, Greater Manchester Combined Authority
- Keith Allcock – Cabinet Member for Environment & Highways, Sandwell Council
- Ken Hawkins – Cabinet Member for Environment & Infrastructure, Solihull MBC
- Majid Mahmood – Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport, Birmingham City Council
- Oliver Coppard – Mayor, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
- Patricia Hetherton – Cabinet Member for City Services, Coventry City Council
- Philip Wilkinson OBE – PCC for Wiltshire and Swindon
- Qaiser Azeem – Cabinet Member for City Transport, City of Wolverhampton Council
- Siwan Lloyd Hayward OBE – Director of Security, Policing and Enforcement, Transport for London
- Rachel Bacon – Chief Constable, Durham Constabulary
- Rupert Matthews – PCC for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
- Sean Rhodes – Cabinet Member for Communities and Local Place, South Gloucestershire Council
- Tom Cunningham – Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport, Essex County Council
