Laurel Mayor Craig Moe and Police Chief Richard McLaughlin make note that area schools are out for the summer and kids in Laurel may actually look forward to their next encounter with the “heat” this summer. The “heat” or the Laurel Police Department will be teaming up with 7-Eleven® stores’ and the popular ‘Operation Chill’ program that allows officers to reward youthful positive behavior with a very cool treat.
Through Operation Chill®, Laurel Police Officers can “ticket” youngsters caught in the act of doing good. The ‘tickets’ will actually be a Slurpee® beverage coupons. Appropriate “offenses” might include helping another person, deterring crime or participating in a positive activity in the community. Each coupon can be redeemed for a small Slurpee drink at participating 7-Eleven stores.
“Laurel Police Officers are constantly on patrol in the community”, says Chief McLaughlin. “Community well-being and crime prevention takes a team effort and our young people are an integral part of that equation”.
Operation Chill was developed by 7-Eleven, Inc. to positively reward and encourage good behavior by kids during the hot summer months, when communities may experience increases in loitering, shoplifting and graffiti, and to support law enforcement agencies’ community relations projects. The Laurel Police use the Operation Chill program to reward selected youth for their good deeds and at the same time enhance relations between the young people of the city and their Police Officers.
Mayor Moe adds, “This program is a big hit with both the Police Department and Laurel kids. Police officers have said they love having a positive reason to approach kids and thank them for being good citizens.”
7-Eleven’s proprietary Slurpee semi-frozen carbonated beverage has generational appeal with slurpers both young and old. 7-Eleven reports more than a half-million Slurpee drinks are purchased each day during the summer at 7-Eleven stores across the country.
The Laurel Police Department is a full-service law enforcement agency providing a variety of services to the citizens and visitors of Laurel twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The Department serves the City of Laurel’s approximately 5 square miles with an authorized complement of sixty-eight (68) sworn and twenty (20) civilian personnel and an annual budget of almost $8 million dollars. The Laurel City Police handle about 50,000 calls for service a year.
