Traffic cones and police revenues

Today I was stopped at my local police road block for the first time. The young female officer greeted me cheerily and asked if I would be willing to contribute to new traffic cones to replace their old grotty ones which couldn't be seen from a distance. I replied that I could always see the police officers in their high-vis jackets and declined to contribute. Police sometimes do try to get money at road blocks, but usually by inventing an offence or charging for a real one. (Their speed cameras were withdrawn recently because not enough of the fines were making it back to HQ.) This was the most novel request I have encountered and I might even go and get a cone for a laugh!