You don’t normally see people smiling after police hand them a ticket, but that could be the case with the launch of the Regina Police Service’s “Positive Ticketing” program for youth.
Officers on patrol will “ticket” young people doing good deeds like wearing a helmet while biking. The tickets will then be redeemable for rewards from the program’s partners. Rewards include free food from Burger King, tickets to a Regina Pats game or passes to Regina recreational facilities.
“I think the City of Regina, the Regina Pats organization, and Burger King have really been outstanding partners in what’s going to be an exciting summer for youth in our city,” said Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray.
Positive ticketing has been done by other police forces in Canada, but is new to Regina. RPS Const. Jonathan Turner started organizing the program after seeing it create positive communication between police and youth in other jurisdictions.
“Police are always looking for more tools to engage with the youth,” he said. So, this just gives members another tool to allow them to reward these kids when they see something positive.”
The positive tickets won’t exclusively be available to kids and teens either. Regina police say adults can also score some positive tickets for doing things like making sure all children in their vehicles are buckled up.
Police say the program will run throughout the year.
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