Deputies ‘ticket’ kids
Published 8:33 pm Wednesday, September 23, 2015
The Suffolk Sheriff’s Office will be ticketing kids across the city in the next few months.
The youngsters will be found guilty as charged without a trial. There’s no jail time, but they’ll be slapped with a huge fine — a free Slurpee at a local 7-Eleven.
The sheriff’s office is participating in 7-Eleven’s Operation Chill program, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The program distributes “tickets” for free Slurpees to law enforcement agencies, which can then hand them out to children law enforcement officers observe exhibiting good behavior or doing good deeds.
“I don’t think there’s anything more important right now for law enforcement to work on than our relationship of trust with our youth,” Maj. E.C. Harris said. “It seems like there’s a lack of trust in our youth with law enforcement in general.”
The sheriff’s office has 600 of the tickets and plans to distribute them throughout the year or as long as the supply lasts. The tickets are good through Dec. 31.
Harris said deputies will hand out coupons inside the courthouse and while out in the community serving civil paperwork, as well as at community events where deputies are participating.
Deputies will be present at the Peanut Fest parade, Touch-A-Truck and Main Street United Methodist Church fall festival on Oct. 3, at Peanut Fest on Oct. 9, at Driver Days on Oct. 17 and at Chuckatuck Founders Day on Oct. 24, among other upcoming community events.
The Operation Chill program aims to reward children for good deeds or good behaviors such as wearing their bicycle helmets, participating in community activities, picking up trash or observing street crossing rules.
In the 20 years it has existed, the Operation Chill program has handed out 14 million coupons to officers who distributed them to children on their beats.