H.A.P.P.Y.

Helmets and Police Protecting Youth

The H.A.P.P.Y. (Helmets And Police Protecting Youth ) campaign is conducted seasonally by the Medford Township Police Department.  The program is designed to promote the use of helmets by children under the age of 17 by rewarding children who wear helmets while riding bicycles, scooters, skateboards, or roller blades.  When a police officer observes a child wearing a helmet, the officer initiates contact with the child and issues the child a H.A.P.P.Y. Ticket.  The “ticket” contains information on injuries related to pedestrian, pedal cyclist, and scooter injuries.  A portion of the ticket containing the child’s information is turned in by the officer for a drawing with various prizes. 

A secondary objective of this program is to foster positive relationships between the police officers and the children of our community.

This program is made possible by a partnership between the police department, the police officer associations, various local businesses and associations.  In 2008 a special relationship was forged with Medford-Vincentown Rotary to support this program.  

This program was recognized with the 2002 Innovation in Governance Award

Presented by the  New Jersey League of  Municipalities and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.