Positive Tickets will be returning to the Cowichan Valley!
Cowichan Community Safety would like to give a great big shout out of to all our generous sponsors from past years who made this program possible.
Supporting positive programs like this makes a difference in the lives of children and youth in our community.
Exact program dates coming soon…
What is Positive Tickets?
Positive Tickets is a program that rewards youth safety by recognizing safe practices. ‘Positive tickets’ are issued to youth out in the community who exhibit positive behaviours or practices.
Facilitators (CCS&ES staff/directors/volunteers, local RCMP members, Block Watch Leads, and other appropriate community representatives) ‘catch’ youth displaying positive behaviour or actions around the community and reward them with a ‘ticket’ which they can redeem at our Duncan office location (5-2628 Beverly St.) for a coupon or gift card for a fun free activity or prize.
The tickets youth receive can be redeemed for merchandise or vouchers in the value of $5.00 to $15.00. Every ticket given out will be entered in a grand prize draw to be drawn at an annual event (date to be announced). We are hoping to have at least 20 grand prizes this year!
Youth may receive a ticket for a number of positive behaviours including:
- Practicing personal safety such as wearing a bike helmet or other protective/high visibility items
- Doing various good deeds
- Participating in community activities
- Volunteering
- Demonstrating community pride such as picking up trash or removing graffiti
- Deterring crime
- Adhering to school crossing rules
- Being a role model for others
Positive tickets are awarded to youth by RCMP members, Block Watch Leads/Co-leads, and Community Safety members to initiate relationships between youth, their community, and local businesses. This also offers an opportunity for officers to interact with youth in an informal/less authoritative manner to create positive relationships and deter future crime in youth populations.
The principals of this innovative approach have been shown to significantly:
- Reduce juvenile troublemaking and related crime costs
- Boost self-esteem and morale
- Improve community relations with youth
Why is Positive Tickets an Important Program for the Community?
From a safety education standpoint, Positive Tickets allows youth to be recognized for their positive/safe behaviour, therefore reinforcing safe practices within the individual youth and their cohort via positive reinforcement and word of mouth.
When a youth receives a positive “ticket” for wearing a bike helmet at the skate park, it reinforces safe behaviour and increases the likelihood that they will continue wearing a helmet in the future. It also encourages them to share the message of bike safety with their friends and peers. This simple interaction creates a ripple effect: youth who witness the reward see the benefits of safe riding, which can influence their own choices and contribute to improved overall behaviour in the skate park and surrounding community.
When youth have trusted adults in their lives – such as business owners, community service members, RCMP officers, and affiliated partners – they are more likely to seek help when they feel unsafe or uncertain. Knowing who the “safe adults” are reduces fear, discourages youth from handling situations on their own, and helps prevent youth‑on‑youth conflict. These positive relationships also strengthen youth engagement within the community, contributing to increased respect for local spaces and a reduction in petty theft, property damage, and vandalism.
Who Benefits from the Program?
Youth
Youth living in or frequently visiting Duncan/North Cowichan, South Cowichan, Chemainus and Cowichan Bay communities will directly benefit in the form of legitimate reinforcement of positive behaviour (positive tickets) and learning which behaviours are safe/appropriate. An increase in safety practices within youth populations has the ability to:
- Shift/improve public perception of youth
- Increase the number of youth who model positive behaviours to others, especially those younger than them
- Increase overall cohort safety
- Create positive relationships and safe spaces with local business owners and staff, RCMP members, and Community Safety members
Youth will benefit from having positive relationships with local officers and CCS&ES staff by having an additional safe adult(s) to report/speak to if something negative happens in their life, as well as creating safe spaces (in participating businesses and CCS&ES offices) where youth can feel safe entering if they need help or to disengage from a negative situation.
Community Members
Community members that do not fall under the youth age range will benefit indirectly through:
- Living in communities where safety practices are modeled and favoured from a young age
- Building community trust in the criminal justice system/law enforcement (leading to better/increased reporting and decreased crime)
- Creating general awareness of positive behaviours in the population
- Creating positive relationships between youth and community members and businesses (decreasing overall property crime and theft)
Businesses
Businesses will benefit both directly and indirectly from this program:
- Through advertisement on the CCS&ES website and social media, advertising posters, and directly on the Positive Tickets themselves, demonstrating your support (resulting in increased visibility and revenue potential)
- By contributing to the overall safety and positive behaviours in Cowichan Valley youth, creating a “feel good” feeling
- By creating positive relationships with the next generation and future members of the workforce (decreasing probability of youth property crime, theft, and vandalism against your business)