Bolsover youngsters to be rewarded for good behaviour

Police and staff from partnership agencies in Bolsover and North East Derbyshire are to start handing out tickets to youngsters and teenagers they see behaving well or making positive contributions in their communities.

A Think Positive ticket will be given out to young people, aged between eight and 17 years old, whenever they hear about or see good behaviour.

The tickets can be given by officers from the local Safer Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Derbyshire County Council Multi-Agency Team Officers, Extreme Wheels and Sporting Futures staff, Bolsover District Council’s CAN Rangers and Housing Officers, and Rykneld Homes.

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They will recognise anything from going out of their way to put litter in the bin, helping out a neighbour or reporting a crime, to walking away from trouble, helping calm down a heated situation between friends or turning around their own negative behaviour.

All recipients will have the chance to win a prize in a quarterly draw. The prizes will consist of vouchers for the cinema or to spend in high street shops. The best examples of positive behaviour from each district will be given a police certificate of merit.

Sergeant Paul Smith, of the Bolsover and North East Derbyshire Community Safety Partnerships, said: “We are piloting this scheme over the next six months in the Bolsover and North East Derbyshire areas to focus upon and encourage positive behaviour and recognise the contributions that many young people make within their local communities but often go unnoticed.

“We hope this scheme, over time, will help us to build stronger relationships with young people, especially as normally tickets are only ever issued in negative situations.

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“I also hope that we can use it as an opportunity to show the wider community that while a small minority of teenagers may get involved in anti-social behaviour, there are a lot of young people out there who are willing to make a positive contribution to their local area.”

The scheme will start during the first week of August, and the first prize draw, which has been funded and will be administered by the Bolsover and North East Derbyshire Community Safety Partnerships, will take place after 31st October.