Toronto police district bets on the power of ‘positive ticketing’

Would you be more likely to rush to someone’s aid if it means you might receive a McDonald’s coupon for your efforts? Or wear a bike helmet if it could lead to a free ice cream cone?

That is the strategy behind a new public relations campaign being employed by one Toronto police district, where “positive tickets” are used to reinforce good behaviour.

Metro Toronto reports that 42 Division officers, in the city’s northeast, are working to improve relationships with locals by thanking them for their help with these positive tickets. The tickets will include the officer’s name and number, as well as the deed that resulted in the ticket.

Those actions could be anything from calling police when a drug dealer is nearby to performing CPR to assisting victims of a vehicle collision until police arrive.

The tickets come with coupons to various area stores and restaurants and, if recipients want to share their personal information, larger rewards.

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"Officers give out tickets on a daily basis for violations of the law. Positive tickets provide an opportunity not only to give out tickets when something is wrong, but when something is right," said 42 Division Insp. David Saunders in a promo video. "It gives officers a tool with which to say thank you to the public for stepping up and doing what is right."

Positive ticketing campaigns already exist in several areas of the country, including Richmond, B.C., Kelowna, B.C., and Caledon, Ont. The Ontario Provincial Police have their own positive ticketing program, in which they award children wearing bike helmets, those who pick up trash and anyone spotted deterring crime.

But is this idea really enough to break down barriers between suspicious neighbourhood residents and police officers? On its own, probably not. The positive initiative ticket could have a positive impact on area youths, but only those reached at a young enough age that they are still developing a relationship with the law.

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Few people of the age depicted in the above video will let down their guard around officers simply in exchange for a discounted Big Mac. It will take more than positive tickets to reach those who need reaching. The program is, however, an indication of the way the Toronto Police Service wants to do business. It already has an anti-violence strategy in effect, designed in part to have street-level police more visible in troubled communities.

Of course, the point of the positive ticket program isn’t the tickets themselves, or even the coupons, but the acknowledgement of a job well done. It is the understanding that society appreciates their good deeds, that they do make a difference.

A recent survey done on behalf of Scouts Canada found that 51 per cent of Canadians are the recipient of a good deed at least once a month. So it is not as though good turns are never taken, it is just that most go unnoticed.

There may not be a better way to acknowledge those Good Samaritans that having it done by those who professionally serve and protect. And, at the very least, there is no harm in trying.

(Photo courtesy of Toronto police, via Twitter)