NASS Valley youngsters are being ticketed for positive behaviours as part of the new Positive Ticketing Program.
Tickets are donated by businesses and/or organizations in the community and given out by detachments through the First Nation Policing officers, when appropriate, and usually come in the form of gift certificates, passes, or discounts.
Youths receive positive tickets for positive behaviours such as practising personal safety such as wearing bicycle helmets, doing various good deeds, participating in community activities, demonstrating community pride such as picking up trash, deterring crime or as an icebreaker to establish a rapport with kids in the officer's patrol area.
""This initiative was spearheaded by Const. Vanessa Demerchant, one of our First Nation Policing officers, and the business community in Terrace responded generously," said Sgt. Donovan Tait, officer in charge of Lisims/Nass Valley RCMP.
"Our members are excited about the program and look forward to rewarding our youth who engage in positive behaviours in their communities. Handing out these positive tickets will provide our officers and youth a platform to engage in discussions about everything from healthy lifestyles, substance abuse, stranger-danger and bicycle safety."
Positive Tickets are a tool RCMP members can use to initiate relationships between youth, their communities and local businesses.
Most would agree the more assets a youth possesses, the more successful they will be in school, the healthier they will be, and the greater the likelihood that they will contribute to their community, said Tait.
Alternatively, they will be less likely to be involved in risky behaviors such as alcohol, drugs, violence, and criminal activities, he added.
Variations of this program have been established across Canada in communities such as Richmond, Kelowna, Grand Prairie, AB and Toronto, ON.