Breaking With the Law: The Story of Positive Tickets

By Ward Clapham

Foreword by Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

My community, like so many others, struggled with the number of calls for youth disturbances and crime. The reactive approach to solving this problem was not working. Kids saw us as the "hunters." With that mindset, the good kids shied away from us, and the marginal kids turned it into a game of "cat and mouse" to see how much they could get away with before getting caught. So I thought, what if we flipped things around? What if we catch and reward kids for doing good things instead of focusing on only the negative things? What if we start handing out Positive Tickets instead of only violations or warnings? It totally went against the old reactive, post-incident, corrective policing model. The results of the Positive Tickets program have been remarkable.

Breaking With the Law: The Story of Positive Tickets is divided into two sections. In the first section, I share my transformational journey from being a typical cop "hunting" criminals to an officer who "hunts" for good behavior as a way to prevent crime from ever happening. My unique perspective into this type of proactive law enforcement initiative is illustrated through stories, quotes, and visuals.

In the second section, I provide practical, step-by-step instructions for launching a similar initiative in your community. Based on years of experience, I offer tips, watch-outs, and best practices to help you implement and maintain the Positive Tickets program.

The Positive Ticket phenomenon has taken off around the world with over 500,000 youth being recognized for doing things right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ward Clapham
• Release date: Feb 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9780986590337

Ward Clapham

Ward Clapham—Superintendent (Rtd) is a 28-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Until recently, he led the men and women who served within the third largest RCMP detachment in Canada, located in Richmond, B.C.—a diverse multicultural community within the Metro Vancouver area. Ward’s RCMP detachment has been celebrated as one of the most progressive police organizations in Canada. Throughout his career, he and his teams took calculated chances, made mistakes, and forged new paths where others feared to tread. Though difficult at times, Ward’s unshakable vision created new paradigms of leadership within the traditional command-and-control environment of policing. The results of his vision and courage paid off. Crime and community problems were significantly decreased. More than 53 countries from around the world have studied the Richmond leadership approach to policing. The Richmond model has also been championed by government and private institutions as the key to successful community safety and public reassurance. In July 2008 through September 2010, Ward served as Chief for the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service (Transit Police). In this role, he continued to break with what was not working, infuse effective principles into his organization, and empower and inspire team members. He is currently pursuing his consulting practice full-time to bring his methodology and processes to a wider audience. Ward’s leadership approach has been featured in D. Michael Abrashoff’s book, Get Your Ship Together—How Great Leaders Inspire Ownership from the Keel Up. FranklinCovey Co. (founded by Dr. Stephen R. Covey) completed a documentary film on the success of Richmond’s proactive policing. And Reader’s Digest magazine described Ward’s work in a full-length story titled, “Something Positive for a Change.” Ward has recently written and published the first book in his Breaking With series: Breaking With the Law: The Story of Positive Tickets (www.PositiveTickets.com). The second book in this series, Lead Big: Discovering the Upside of Unconventional Leadership is now available at www.LeadBig.net. Recognized Outcomes Recipient of the Head of Public Service of Canada Award for Valuing and Supporting People—Leadership Recipient of the Canadian Order of Merit of the Police Forces for conspicuous merit and exceptional service Recipient of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem for community service Recipient of the Queens Golden Jubilee Award for community policing Rotary International Centennial Service Award for professional excellence

Book preview

THE STORY OF POSITIVE TICKETS

BREAKING WITH THE LAW

Foreword by Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

WARD CLAPHAM

Former Superintendent of Richmond,

British Columbia, Canada RCMP

Every breakthrough first requires a break with the old paradigms,

practices, and principles that tether people and organizations to the

status quo. Over his long tenure in policing, Ward Clapham has broken

with many beliefs and behaviors that were ineffective and unproductive,

hence the title of his book series Breaking With the Law. In the face of

sometimes harsh criticism, Clapham has led positive revolutions to

better serve his co-workers and communities. Look for future

Breaking With the Law titles that feature his unorthodox

methods that bring about extraordinary results.

Copyright © 2010 by Ward Clapham

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

ISBN: 978-0-9865903-0-6

Smashwords edition

Designed by Think Tank Creative Consortium, SLC, UT

Special appreciation to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; San Jose Police Department; the City of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada; and the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service for use of photographs in this book.

Select photos copyright © Jaime Kowal. Cover jacket photos by Jaime Kowal.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is dedicated to the youth of Richmond, Canada, without whom there would be no story to tell. Thank you for touching my life and changing my paradigm.

It is also dedicated to the men and women around the world who have heard this story and have been inspired by it. This book is the how-to guide to implement Positive Tickets wherever you are.

I also want to recognize a few people for their support, inspiration, and encouragement which made this Positive Tickets journey possible:

•My family, Karlene (wife), Steven (son), and Megan (daughter)

•My mother, Sandra

•Lisa Daems, writer and editor

•Keith Pattinson, master storyteller, youth advocate, and personal mentor

•Tony Mahon, RCMP (rtd.)

•Renny Nesset, RCMP

•Davis Wendell, RCMP

•Keith Bramhill, RCMP

•Sunrise Rotary, Richmond, British Columbia

•Steveston Rotary, Richmond, British Columbia

•Mike Parker, Captain, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department

•Warren Dosko, RCMP

•Barry King, Retired Chief of Police, Brockville Police Service, Brockville Ontario

•Wayne Yee, Advisor Youth Services, City of Richmond

•Rob Davis, Chief of Police, San Jose, California

•The men and women of the Transit Police—Vancouver, British Columbia, with whom I have the privilege to work

Finally, a note of appreciation to Stephen R. Covey for his faith and delight in my proactive efforts; and to Boyd Craig for his support over the years.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD by Dr. Stephen R. Covey

MY JOURNEY WITH POSITIVE TICKETS

The Beginning

A Child’s Perspective

Paradigm Shift

Some Baby Steps

Hunting for Good Behavior

Positive Tickets

Joe’s Story

Catching Fire

Steve’s Story

Results

Take the Risk

POSITIVE TICKETS IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

Results You Can Expect

Disclaimer

Step 1: Set Up

Understand the Underlying Principles

Form Partnerships

Conduct Training

Design and Acquire the Tickets

Step 2: Roll Out

Start Off

Manage the Media

Market the Program

Step 3: Maintain

Maintain the Momentum

Keep Score (Statistics and Measurements)

Use the Ticket as a Springboard

A Final Word

APPENDIX

Resources

Positive Press Stories

FOREWORD

Many years ago, I heard a story about a waterfall. This particular waterfall was situated on a river that had recently become popular for whitewater sports—rafting, kayaking, etc. The drop off to the waterfall was somewhat camouflaged. Most people didn’t see it coming until they were going over the edge. After several accidents at the waterfall, the agency in charge of river safety was called out to investigate. Of course, the public was outraged that such a waterfall was allowed to exist on this popular river. Politicians demanded action.

Members of the river safety agency conducted many studies on the waterfall. They measured its height. They determined the impact of various-sized watercraft that would be going over the falls. They studied the depth of the water at the base of the falls and the composition of the riverbed under the water to determine the types of injuries people might sustain. They partnered with local hospitals to prep them for waterfall victims. They partnered with the Search and Rescue department to have a