The next time you get stopped by a police officer in Lac La Biche County, it might not be because you did something wrong.
The next time you get stopped by a police officer in Lac La Biche County, it might not be because you did something wrong.
A “positive ticketing” program, dubbed Caught Being Awesome, is now running in the community to reward safe and lawful behaviour.
The “tickets” can be redeemed for treats, gift cards and other prizes at local businesses that are sponsoring the initiative.
A similar program used to be run by Lac La Biche County, overseen by the RCMP and municipal Peace Officers, but it was aimed more at children and teenagers than at the general population.
“This time around, we’ ve got stuff for everybody,” said Melody Littell, coordinator for the local Victim Services unit, which is acting as the fiscal agent for Caught Being Awesome. “The hope is that, by reinforcing positive behaviours at all ages, we can get the community aware.”
The program will focus on areas of concern in the community, like jaywalking and distracted driving. People who are “caught” in the act of obeying the rules just might be rewarded.
Deciding which areas to concentrate on was a group effort, Littell says, with stakeholders representing different agencies coming together to pool their ideas.
“We talked about it with community partners,” said Littell. “The committee sat and talked about what we’ d like to see, then we talked with the RCMP and they told us what they’ d like to see.”
The program started with a grant from Devon Canada to Parachute Canada, a Toronto-based not-for-profit safety organization. Under Parachute’ s guidance, communities in Devon’ s areas of operation were supplied with funds to create safety-focused campaigns like Caught Being Awesome.
Some other communities opted for the P.A.R.T.Y. (Preventing Alcohol Related Trauma in Youth) program, but a version of that already operates annually in Lac La Biche County. That left the local stakeholders’ group looking for a more unique initiative.
When the idea was conceived in late September 2014, the program was supposed to focus heavily on rewarding safe driving. It’ s since expanded to include acts like wearing a helmet while cycling and using designated crosswalks.
Individual police officers will have to decide which acts of safe, legal behaviour are worth recognizing, Littell says.
“We’ re leaving it to the discretion of the RCMP,” she said.
The first wave of “tickets” is circulating now. The committee steering the program is keen to keep it going, Littell says, so any local business or agency interested in providing support is encouraged to contact Victim Services.
“Most of the people on the list (of sponsors) have said they would do it again,” said Littell.
