People don't normally get rewarded for following the law, but the Farmington police department from New Hampshire wants to change that by offering free pizza and French fries to law-abiding citizens.
Farmington police Chief Jay Drury told the Huffington Post that their community really needed a morale boost so they came up with a programme where police officers hand out gift cards for a slice of pizza and fries to people who follow the law - be it something as simple as using the crosswalks or keeping their dogs tied on a leash.
Drury came up with the idea after seeing a man follow all the rules despite having difficulty navigating through the town's giant snowbanks. "Through the snow, this guy followed every rule and law, and I said to myself, he deserves a medal for this," Drury said. "It really weighed on me for a few days, and I thought, there has to be something we can do."
When he went to Crowley's Variety & Grill, Drury talked to the store's employees and told them about his plan of buying a dozen gift cards as rewards to law-abiding citizens.
"Originally, Officer Drury was going to pay for the cards himself," Crowley's owner Ryan Rogers said. "But we said no, we'd give them out and see how the programme goes."
They started the programme on March 2 and policemen from the area have been noticing a positive shift in people's behaviour. "People are trying to better themselves," Rogers said. "This programme changes their mindset."
So far, the Farmington police department has handed out 30 gift cards, and the Holy Rosary Credit Union even donated $250 to Crowley so that the programme would be able to continue until the end of March.
"This has been such a great way to get my officers out there, meeting people they wouldn't usually talk to. It's been nice to look for the good in people," said Drury.
