THE ‘war against dangerous drivers’ in the West Midlands has received a £1million government cash boost.
The cash, secured by the region’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster, will allow him to buy three speed camera vans, employ six more staff to view videos of dangerous drivers and tackle anti-social behaviour on the streets.
Funds will also be used to boost the community speed watch scheme and allow the PCC to tackle violence against women and girls in public spaces by educating youngsters and encouraging upstander behaviour in adults.
Since 2013, road collisions and casualties have started to rise, with 1,051 people seriously injured in road traffic collisions in the last financial year, including 55 deaths.
Mr Foster said: “Preventing and tackling crime and anti-social behaviour on our roads, promoting road harm reduction and reducing the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads are also top priorities.
“This funding will help me and West Midlands Police make our roads safer for all by expanding community speed watch schemes, boosting third-party reporting, with six new staff to oversee submitted video footage and three new speed camera vans.
“Ending male violence against women and girls has also been a core priority for me from day one.
“We’ve been able to take some great strides already but there’s so much work to be done in achieving community-wide change and having more open conversations about what we can all do. This important funding will help us to do just that.”
