July 5, 2011
The Winning Ticket: Traffic Fines Benefit Abbotsford

ABBOTSFORD – The Province is helping Abbotsford deliver essential services and keep families safe with a $1,919,236 grant from the Strategic Community Investment Fund (SCIF). The money is coming from the Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing program.

Why this matters:

• SCIF grants allow communities to invest in their own priority projects.
• The Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing program helps municipalities that directly pay for police enforcement costs. The grants come from ticket fines and court-imposed fines on violation tickets, and the amount of money a municipality receives is based on its contribution to total municipal policing costs.
• This money will provide additional funding for local policing services and crime prevention programs.

Quotes

"This funding will help develop services that make our community safer and more livable so we can better meet the needs of our citizens."
-Abbotsford West MLA Michael de Jong

"If people are going to speed, they're going to get a ticket and pay a fine. This program allows us to turn that negative into a positive and use the money to benefit the community."
-Abbotsford-Mission MLA Randy Hawes

"This program is about making Abbotsford safer for families. It will allow us to put more police on our roads and provide additional resources for crime prevention and the restorative justice program."
- Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen

Additional Information:

• Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing program funds come from fines on violation tickets.
• Learn more about B.C. local governments: http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/

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