Talk about positive reinforcement. This time smothered with cheese and topped with pepperoni. In Denver, the cops run after good-doers giving out pizza coupons.
Papa John's and Alpine Bank are teaming up with the local police force to give out 500 coupons for free pizza. The coupons give a playful message, 'you got caught doing something right'.
It rewards the public who are spotted doing good deeds or obeying the law, like using the trashcan, not jaywalking or helping an old woman cross the street.
The Denver Police is not only doing this to encourage the community to do good works and abide by the law, but also to repair their damaged image brought on by the recent incident of a Native American named Paul Castaway who was shot by the police.
This is not the first pizza, err, positive reinforcement used by the police force. In New York, their finest organized a pizza party for gang members in December 2014. It is part of the nationwide program called 'Cure Violence', originally called 'CeaseFire' when it was started in Chicago. There were 16 who attended, all gang members and on probation. Preachers, social workers, police officers and prosecutors gave speeches on very relevant topics like substance abuse and job opportunities.The activities were all focused on encouraging the gangsters to reform and seek better means of conflict resolution. Early 2015, they continued with this program and had gang members from Wave Gang, Very Crispy Gangsters and Rockstarz.
In March 2015, New Hampshire police also gave out gift cards for pizza and fries to boost morale of the community after a long winter. 'People are trying to better themselves,' said a local businessman who supported the program. 'This [program] changes their mindset.' At the start, Farmington Police Chief Jay Drury wanted to pay for the cards himself, but many sponsors from the community came forward and willingly helped.
