As police and transport chiefs in London signal the end of the road for up to 140 speed cameras in the capital, The Birmingham Post's Richard Warburton looks at the situation in the West Midlands and at who chooses the sites and how and why they are picked... Police and transport chiefs across the Midlands yesterday said they would not follow Londons lead and cut the number of speed cameras on the regions roads. Casualty reduction partnerships responsible for cameras across the regions four police force areas said there would be no u-turn on the controversial traffic control policy. However, the West Midlands partnership last night told The Birmingham Post that the positioning of 12 cameras was currently being investigated to identify whether they meet strict Government guidelines. A spokesman for West Midlands Casualty Reduction Partnership also added that the group would be buying more interactive traffic signs that flash signals telling motorists if they are speeding. His comments came after police in London announced that up to 140 speed cameras in the city could be removed. Amid public anger over the number of motorists being fined, scores of cameras in the capital could be replaced with speed indicator signs, which tell drivers how fast they are going and to slow down. Casualty reduction partnerships for the West Midlands, West Mercia, Staffordshire and Warwickshire all said there had been no change to the criteria that means cameras are only set up at accident hotspots and consequently they would not be removing any. Speed cameras in the West Midlands region caught 230,000 speeding motorists last year, raising an estimated £3.8 million. The cameras are on our roads because they fulfil the criteria set down by the Government to reduce accident and as that policy has not changed we shall not be removing cameras, said the West Midlands CRP spokesman. We have already recognised that one camera on the A45 in Solihull does not meet those criteria any longer and shall be decommissioned and moved elsewhere and we are currently looking into 11 other cameras that may be moved. He added that as many as 20 speed visors, which show motorists the speed they are travelling on signs on the side of the road, would be bought for use across the West Midlands next year. The London Safety Camera Partnership, which includes police and Transport for London, is looking at replacing 140 filmless cameras with speed indicators. The number of areas where police officers use mobile speed cameras is also expected to be reduced in the future. An officer who wants to use a camera in an area not on an approved list of accident hotspots has to ask permission from a senior officer and give a reason why. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens maintains that cameras should not be used simply to raise money from drivers and wants them focused on safety blackspots. The removal of cameras from the capitals streets could trigger similar moves elsewhere, in response to growing fury from drivers. More than 400 speed cameras are thought to have been vandalised over the past two years. Shadow Transport Secretary Damian Green yesterday called for a national audit of cameras to assess which were necessary for road safety. Im delighted that the Metropolitan Commissioner has responded so quickly and sensibly to the misuse of speed cameras, he said. Conservatives think they should only be used for road safety, not as a silent tax collector for Gordon Brown. | 
