Through a partnership between Jiffy Lube of Indiana, the Indy Public Safety Foundation and the Central Indiana Police Foundation, $200,000 in $25 gift cards have been made available to hand out to motorists pulled over for minor vehicle equipment violations, such as a broken light, as part of the “No Ticket, Let’s Fixt It” program. Since February, the Indy Public Safety Foundation has been distributing the gift cards to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Marion County Prosecutor’s and Sheriff’s Offices while the Central Indiana Police Foundation has been distributing them to the Beech Grove, Southport and Speedway police departments, which are in Marion County, as well as sheriff’s offices and police departments in neighboring counties.
The idea initially came from Emily Shrock, Chief of Strategic Initiatives at the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. She had read that there was a small program around Christmas time in Orlando where officers handed out $5,000 worth of gift cards donated by Advance Auto Parts to get violations fixed. She is friends with Melanie Allen from Green Loop Marketing, who works with Jiffy Lube of Indiana, and proposed doing something similar.
Steve Sanner, President and Owner of Jiffy Lube of Indiana, which has 50 service centers across the state, loved the idea so much that he wanted to go even bigger. Instead of just focusing on the holiday season, he wanted to roll out the program to last longer. “I was like ‘No, no, let’s just do this year-round. I’ll just keep printing cards.’ This makes great sense. It’s a feel-good for us, gets people coming into our stores, which is always a good thing, and more importantly, it seems like it’s a solution. For us, the parts are not very expensive. A light bulb doesn’t cost much, and the labor is already at the stores and we’re already no appointment necessary so anyone can pop in and we’ll fix it. It’s a really easy thing for us to handle and we’re excited to see where it takes us.”
Coordinating efforts
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears says that his office spends a lot of time trying to help people get their driver’s licenses restored. In Indiana, the law is that if a driver receives a ticket and it isn’t paid, their license is automatically suspended. “As a consequence, it takes a lot of people out of the workforce and it makes it more difficult for them to participate in their kids’ lives or really enjoy any sort of quality of life here in Central Indiana.”
After Shrock reached out to Sanner at Jiffy Lube, Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal was approached with the idea and was equally as enthusiastic. They were then able to partner with the IMPD as well. “We had all of the players to put together and we’ve been doing it since February, and it’s just been a tremendous success,” says Mears.
Dane Nutty, Executive Director of the Indy Public Safety Foundation says that his organization often helps coordinate logistics when it comes to community engagement and initiatives. They have helped distribute the gift cards to agencies, collected information and played a role in promoting the program as well.
“So far it’s been very positive,” he says. “The contrast when you get that feeling in your stomach when you get pulled over, to the next thing you know you’re receiving a gift card, that’s been really cool and I think it also provides opportunities for officers to have some good dialogue and engagement building with individuals.”
Next, the Central Indiana Police Foundation chose about 28 law enforcement agencies outside of Marion County, along with the three police departments in the county, to participate in the program. “I think that when people were pulled over and received a gift card instead of a ticket, it was really surprising to them and it created some positive dialogue and get some positive relationship building between the officer and the citizen,” says CIPF Executive Director Lisa Rollings.
Deputy Chief Anthony Ardizzone, who oversees the Marion County Sheriff’s Reserve Division, says they received around 300 gift cards to distribute and that his deputies had recently finished handing them out. He reported that the interactions have been great and that it’s been a win-win so far for both the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and for Jiffy Lube.
Building bridges
Everyone involved spoke about the joy people have expressed when they find out they are not being issued a ticket. One $25 gift card is enough to replace two small bulbs, like turn signals and break lights, or one standard headlight. While officers have been distributing the cards to drivers they stop, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has been distributing the cards in court. For people who were previously issued a ticket and show up to traffic court for a minor violation, they are told that if they use the gift card to get the issue fixed, they’ll dismiss the ticket.
“It’s really just been a positive response from people where they say, ‘Hey, you mean I just get my car fixed and you dismiss the ticket?’ We say ‘Yeah, that’s the deal.’ And that’s a deal that many people in our community have been appreciative of,” says Mears.
He added that not only does the initiative help keep people on the roads safely, but the other part of it is there’s a lot of conversation about the relationship between law enforcement and the community as a whole. “I think that when you offer someone the chance to fix or repair their vehicle instead of giving them a ticket, I think most people walk away from that interaction happier than what they ordinarily would and I think it helps just restore that trust and confidence in the community and law enforcement that is good for everybody involved.”
Rollings says that she has had positive feedback from officers. “One of the things my inner-city officers are telling me is that so many of their interactions are negative and so when they can do something positive, and have a positive interaction, maybe a smile, laughter and some good conversation, and that person is driving away with more of a comfortable feeling about that officer, they’re happy to do with that.”
Sanner, who also is a member of the 100 Club of Indianapolis and the Central Indiana Police Foundation, says that new ideas are needed to strengthen the connection between officers and their communities. “We need solutions, and we need good interactions between police and the citizens they have sworn to serve and protect.”
Public-private partnerships
Engaging stakeholders and businesses in a given area can sometimes be a difficult task for law enforcement agencies, but Nutty says that when done the right way it can yield a positive outcome. “Oftentimes we find that people want to engage with and show their support for law enforcement in the community, especially these days. They just don’t know how to. Reaching out and saying ‘Hey, I’ve got this gift card idea’ really started the process and we were able to figure out the logistics behind the scenes.”
Sanner says that he’s thrilled so far with the progress and that the program snowballed to include multiple agencies because it’s a great idea. “I’ve talked to other Jiffy Lube people about doing it and they’ve started to approach police officers and police chiefs in their communities,” he says. “I would love to see this become a national program. We own 51 Jiffy Lubes in Indiana. There’s 2,000 Jiffy Lubes around the country.”
Mears stressed that the public and private sectors need to come together to form partnerships to tackle public safety issues. “It just takes people the willingness to cooperate with one another and try to find a solution to a problem and we’re grateful for Jiffy Lube of Indiana to step up, really with a pretty significant investment in this program,” he says. “Because of that I think we are driving more traffic and customers to Jiffy Lube and we’re getting cars driving on the roadways safe and make sure they are properly functioning and we’ve help restore and build that trust between the community and law enforcement.”
Other programs
MicroGrants, a Minneapolis nonprofit, launched the program “Lights On!” in 2017. The program, which is funded by donations, has rapidly expanded to more than 100 agencies in Minnesota and has partnered with departments in Kansas, New York, Tennessee and Iowa. The program distribute vouchers to officers to hand out to drivers that cover the cost of fixing a headlight, taillight, brake light, or turn signal light.
“These vouchers lead to safer cars on the road, and better interactions between law enforcement officers and the public. Most importantly, by avoiding tickets, we’re preventing a ripple effect that can seriously affect the financial stability of low-income individuals,” says Hennepin County Sheriff David P. Hutchinson.
Don Samuels, CEO of MicroGrants, says that such programs can bring about social change since a broken taillight or turn signal can sometimes mean choosing between a minor auto repair or buying groceries for one’s family.
“Having dependable transportation is pivotal to moving out of poverty,” he says. “Service vouchers are a simple solution that give people the opportunity to maintain steady transportation so they’re able to stay employed, stay afloat and stay connected to their community.”
