Until April 2007, the partnerships were funded from penalties generated from the use of traffic enforcement cameras in each area, but subsequently time they have received road safety grants.
The announcement was in part the result of a report commissioned by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) to look at the differing effects of various strategies related to the deployment of speed cameras.
As of April 2006 there were thirty eight safety camera partnerships in England and Wales covering forty-one police force areas out of a total of forty-three[7] (Durham and North Yorkshire are the exceptions).
There were also constitutional concerns about the membership of the Courts Service and the payments made to that body contrary to the fundamental principle of Natural Justice: nemo iudex in causa sua.
This created a demand for research showing whether or not the cameras were, in practice, effective at reducing deaths and injuries from road accidents, and to address the unlawful payments.