The LookoutOhio police encouraged to issue ‘tickets’ to kids
Police officers in a suburban Ohio town have begun issuing tickets to small children.
But before you go calling your local congressman, the tickets aren't for violations. The "Operation Safe Summer" initiative, announced by Brimfield Township Police Chief David Oliver, is aimed at rewarding positive behavior among kids. And the "tickets" are for free ice cream cones.
Via the Brimfield Township Police Department's Facebook page:
If a child 12 or under is observed wearing his or her helmet while biking ... the child will be stopped and issued a ticket ... for a free ice cream cone from Franks Drive-In, located on SR43.
According to Oliver, his officers are expected to issue at least one ticket per shift. "I am strongly encouraging my officers to write as many as they can, every shift, every day," he wrote on Facebook.
The message, posted to Facebook on May 28, has generated over 11,932 likes—slightly more than the town's population of 11,736.
On Monday, a Facebook user posted a photo of two helmet-wearing children proudly displaying their tickets.
"Yep ... officers are making their quotas," Oliver wrote. "Great job to all of my officers on this very important 'enforcement' action. ... Keep writing tickets."
"We've probably handed out 20 so far," Oliver told Yahoo News. "It's been fantastic."
The program, he said, was originally launched (and dropped) about a decade ago, but the department decided to bring it back this year.
