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INUVIK
Inuvik's bylaw officers showed off a soft touch with the public last month in a new pilot program.

Const. Sean Cairns of the Inuvik Protective Services department has been handing out these coupons to residents, mostly children, who wear helmets while on their bicycles. It's part of a new initiative called the Positive Ticketing Program. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The initiative, called the Positive Ticketing Program, had the two constables on the lookout not for infractions or law-breakers, but rather kids following good safety practices by wearing helmets while out bicycling.

It's a program based on successful plans in the south, Const. Sean Cairns said in an interview last week.

"We've had similar programs in our previous municipalities," he said. "So it's just something we brought up North with us and so far it's very positive."

Protective Services director Jim Sawkins praised the initiative and called it a "feel-good story" for the department and the town.

It also helps reduce the perception that the bylaw department is all about enforcement, Cairns said.

"The idea behind it is to foster a good relationship with the community," he said. "In particular, we're working on bike helmet and bike safety. The kids are happy and the parents are happy.

"So if we see a young person with a helmet on, we stop and congratulate them for making a good choice on wearing a helmet and offer them a coupon," Cairns explained. "The coupon this month was for a free soft ice cream from Reddy Red's."

While the officers are focusing on the youth of Inuvik, Cairns said they wouldn't necessarily neglect any adults wearing helmets either.

"We don't see a lot of them wearing helmets, unfortunately," he said.

Helmets can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 85 per cent, Cairns explained.

"So it's important for people of all ages to wear helmets, and it's not just limited to bikes. They can also be used for snow machines, skateboards and rollerblades."

That fits in well with the priorities of Mayor Floyd Roland, who has spoken repeatedly this year of the need for people to wear helmets on all of the various modes of transportation outside of cars and trucks.

He's been encouraging the department to begin cracking down on the lack of helmets in the community.

The bylaw officers have also conducted bike rodeos and gave away 83 helmets that were donated by the GNWT, Cairns said.

It's hard to say whether more people in town are wearing helmets, Cairns said.

"There's no real baseline to measure it by," he noted.

Matthew Clark, the manager of the Inuvik NorthMart store, has signed on for August to provide coupons for free Slurpee-style drinks, Cairns said. The store is one of only two locations where bicycles are commonly sold in town.

The program could be expanded into a year-round plan from the current seasonal test.

"It was a trial for July and it's been successful, so we're moving into August now and then we'll definitely look into what permutations of the program we can run into the rest of the year as far as snow machines and other things that pop up during the winter for child and youth safety.

"The whole idea is to foster good relationships instead of just issuing tickets," Cairns said.

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