A confidential memorandum leaked to the Evening Standard shows that London officials are adjusting speed camera settings to reach "a pre-determined daily level" of tickets. The Transport for London memo also recommended 180 new speed camera sites be added to the existing 480 to "produce a steady flow of offences."

The program will generate £719,650 (US $1.4 million) in net profits this year. Cameras would be adjusted on a daily basis to ensure neither too many nor too few citations are issued. For example, driving 34 MPH speed in a 30 MPH zone would generate a ticket one day but only those driving 38 MPH would be ticketed the next day. Top London police officials have been concerned that issuing so many tickets has been alienating the public.

Transport for London, chaired by Mayor Ken Livingston, is responsible for the English capital's transport system, including the city's 360-mile network of roads and 4600 traffic lights. A spokesman for the agency called the wording in the documents "unfortunate."

Top officers in the Met, worried that the cameras are damaging-their relationship with the public, helped block the plans. "There is a wrestle for power within the partnership," said one police source. "We as a police service have always tried to strike a balance between achieving reductions in speeding and accidents and at the same time not alienating the whole community."