Funding for speed cameras could be propped up by revenue from courses offered to offenders instead of prosecution.
The plans, drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) would help to prop up the nation's speed cameras in the wake of sharp spending cuts by the coalition government.
Under current ACPO guide lines, people who have broken the limit by up to 10 per cent plus 6mph (that's 39mph in a 30mph zone or 72mph in a 60mph zone, can be offered a £100-pound speed awareness course in lieu of a fine and points - provided they haven't already attended one in the past three years.
Around 30,000 offenders a year currently take part, potentially generating £3 million in extra annual revenue.
Split amongst the various councils and camera partnerships, that won't actually end up being a great deal of extra cash. But it's enough, reckons Oxfordshire, to turn its cameras back on in time for the new financial year next April, assuming the ACPO business model is approved.
The camera switch-on plans were revealed in a recent report to the cabinet of the Royal Borough of Windsor Maidenhead, written by Stephen Brown (who is chairman of Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership's (TVSRP) strategy committee).
"ACPO are (sic) due to publish a new business model in November, based largely on developments from TVSRP," says the report. "This will transfer costs and liabilities away from highway authorities (Has) and enable the police to recover all their costs from income from training courses. These courses are offered to offenders as an alternative to other penalties. Costs to HAs will therefore be much lower from next April."
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