Florida police department program incentivizes kids caught doing the right thing

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A Florida police department is catching local kids on the street — doing the right thing.

The Sebastian Police Department (SPD) on the state’s Atlantic coast in Indian River County launched a new campaign this week with its Caught Doing the Right Thing coin program for kids doing good deeds in the city.

The program rewards children for doing the right thing with prizes shared by local businesses, like a small order of fries at Burger King.

A video showing the program in action has spread far and wide on Facebook, with more than 110,000 views. It features SPD Officer Tegpreet Singh and a local boy going over the rewards of the coin program.

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Sebastian Police Department Officer Tegpreet Singh hands a child a Caught Doing the Right Thing coin. (Sebastian Police via Facebook)

“We like to celebrate the good part of our community and our kids and hopefully have a lasting memory that we’re just not always there for the bad,” SPD Lt. Robert Vafiades told FOX 35 Orlando. 

Vafiades shared with FOX 35 that local children can receive the coins for good choices, like “kids wearing their life preservers or, like in the video, picking up trash.”

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If a SPD officer “catches” a child doing a good thing, he or she can scan a QR code printed on the coin and choose from various local Sebastian businesses offering rewards.

SPD Officer Singh shows how to use the QR code on the Caught Doing the Right Thing coins. (Sebastian Police via Facebook)

Sebastian is located roughly 50 miles south of Cape Canaveral with a population just under 25,000.

A child who received a Caught Doing the Right Thing coin redeems his prize at a local business in Sebastian, Fla. (Sebastian Police via Facebook)

The Caught Doing the Right Thing program seeks to bridge the gap between the police and the community by recognizing the good in local kids. The department also hosted a Touch and Tour event earlier this month for children to see police vehicles up close.

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The coin drive is funded through donations to the COPE program by the Sebastian Police Department.

The SPD did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.