Positive Ticket: A beautiful idea
At a time when crimes of varied nature have become widespread, and people have easy access to committing wrongs, a common approach to preventing crime is enacting stricter laws, imposing stronger sentencing, or introducing zero-tolerance policies. Simply put, implementing coercive measures with greater intensity. However, despite imposing restrictions and punitive measures, crime statistics do not seem to decline, and its frequency remains unaffected. On a regular basis, we experience a spike in criminal activities ranging from theft, drug trafficking, finance fraud, domestic violence, sexual abuse to cyberbullying. If unchecked, they may snowball, casting a long shadow of harm over the entire society.
A Canadian police department once witnessed a surge in criminal activities despite administering rigorous legal constraints and ratcheting up the severity of measures. However, these efforts failed to produce the desired outcome. That was until a young and visionary new superintendent, Ward Clapham, joined in and challenged every measure that was in place with a simple question, "Why do all of our policing efforts have to be so reactive and negative? And emphasized the idea that, instead of catching criminals and meting out punishment, the police should focus on eliminating criminal behavior before it occurs. This is what Tony Blair said, " What if they could be tough on crimes but also tough on the causes of crimes?"
While considering these questions, a groundbreaking idea surfaced concerning 'Positive Tickets', a programme in which the police focused not on catching young criminals who perpetrated crimes but on recognizing young individuals for doing something good—such as properly using a dustbin on the road, wearing helmet or avoiding spitting on the ground—and rewarding them with a ticket for positive behaviour. This ticket could later be redeemed for a small reward. As soon as the news about being rewarded for positive behaviour spread across the city, people began actively engaging in positive contributions. As a result the frequency of crimes waned over time. The behaviour of the people, as noticed later, was so positive that individuals, especially the youth, made sure that they stayed out of trouble, as they could not afford to miss out on the reward.
After a flawless execution of the interesting idea of identifying and rewarding people for demonstrating positive behaviour, Ward Clapham's approach dissuaded people to a greater proportion from perpetuating criminal acts and instead motivated them to engage in positive acts, and eventually doing good became normalised and effortless. This is how the efforts of a single man with an amazing vision reimagined policing work in Canada. In fact, after a decade the 'Positive Tickets System' has reduced recidivism from 60 percent to 8 percent.
I wonder, if the police in Kashmir could introduce the 'Positive Ticket System.' This initiative has the potential to revolutionise community-police relations by rewarding positive behaviour rather than just enforcing punitive measures. They would initially face a variety of difficulties, such as public scepticism and implementation-related logistical obstacles. But with persistence and dedication, they would eventually see constructive change take hold. A culture of civic duty could also be promoted by even small acts of kindness and accountability, such as helping the elderly cross the street, providing assistance to those in need, making sure that traffic laws are followed, encouraging environmental hygiene and supporting appropriate garbage disposal. This strategy may eventually increase public confidence in law enforcement while simultaneously lowering minor infractions.
Those engaged in acts of crimes, wouldn't afford to fall behind and might feel tempted to demonstrate positive behaviour. Each win, no matter how minuscule, builds momentum and reinforces people's confidence in replicating such actions.
Zahoor Farooq is a short story writer, and a book reviewer hailing from the town, Khrew.
