Officers offer children pizza, soda for obeying rules
OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City Police Department is working with four island businesses to promote the safe operation of bicycles — both electric- and pedal-powered — and reward youths for displaying appropriate behavior.
Chief Bill Campbell, who took over the department Nov. 9 from former chief Jay Prettyman, said safety is the primary goal.
“I think it’s important because we have had complaints about people riding e-bikes unsafely, on the boardwalk and through the streets, and the age group more frequently than not is teens, young riders,” Campbell said.
Sgt. Chris Vivarelli, who is in his 16th year with the OCPD and oversees the Community Policing Unit, said they try to look at less-traditional ways to solve problems.
He said the department partnered with OCPBA local 61, which provided funds to purchase vouchers for two slices of pizza and a drink from Manco & Manco, Randazzo’s, Mario’s and Express Pizza, all of which provided a discount for the program.
Vivarelli said the department now has about 250 vouchers — each stamped with the OCPD logo and that of one of the restaurants involved — and will stop and address youths seen operating their bikes properly and/or wearing a helmet, engage them in conversation and provide safety tips, then present them with one of the vouchers as a reward for a job well done.
“The idea is focused on younger teens to try to provide some incentive for them to ride e-bikes or bicycles safely, wear a helmet and stop at signs,” he said.
“We do a great job on enforcement and education; the only part we fall short on is to acknowledging when they do the right thing. So much attention is on those doing things wrong but so many more are listening to police,” Vivarelli said.
The sergeant said officers started handing out the cards Friday and will wrap up the program in the spring, noting it is focused on local youth at a time when they are a captive audience.
“While we have the down time and local population, we want to take the time to reinforce that these are important issues,” he said.
Vivarelli said the restaurateurs were happy to help.
“All of the businesses thought it was great,” he said.
In November 2023, the OCPD accepted the donation of four e-bikes and announced plans for the local safety campaign.
Tuckahoe Bike Shop donated one of the e-bikes and Fuji Bikes donated three others to the Community Policing Unit, which patrols on foot and by bicycle.
The unit also is using the new bikes to launch an educational and safety campaign in the Ocean City School District.
On Friday, Ptl. Kayla Ricci, Ptl. John Dupont, Ptl. Lou DiLuzio and Lt. Josh Clark were outside the Ocean City Intermediate School to hand out the first of the vouchers.
Ricci said they had recently been issuing verbal and written warnings to youth not wearing helmets.
“We want to send a message in a positive light. We think this is a more beneficial way to get our point across about bicycle safety by giving them an encouragement to do the right thing instead of saying you’re doing the wrong thing and now you are going to have to pay the consequences,” Ricci said.
Campbell said reaching youth through the school system is a good way to teach children safe ways to operate the vehicles, the importance of wearing a helmet and stopping at stop signs to minimize the risk of being involved in an accident.
Councilman Tony Polcini knows firsthand the dangers of riding e-bikes. In November, his son crashed his e-bike, suffering serious injury that required transportation via helicopter to Cooper University Hospital.
“It was definitely an eye-opener,” Polcini said at the time, noting his son had damaged his liver and was briefly hospitalized. “I really think that we need to look at this again, especially about helmets and making sure that kids are wearing helmets. I am going to do whatever I can in this position to help enforce that.”
He thinks the OCPD program will help
“It puts more of a positive spin for the kids. If they are doing what they are supposed to, they can get some special recognition for that,” Polcini said.
Councilman Terry Crowley said City Council had been discussing ways to address the growing problem.
“It’s something we have discussed a number of times and it got pushed back to the police department to get recommendations on what would make sense,” Crowley said.
“I think this is a great program because it recognizes good behavior,” he said, noting police officers visiting the city’s schools will not be there to threaten punishment for wrongdoing but to inform students the property way to ride them.
“Then on the back end rewarding them when positive behavior is exhibited,” Crowley said. “I would rather pat someone on the back when they are doing well than punish them when they are not.”
Crowley also mentioned the generosity of the businesses taking part in the program.
“It’s really nice to see how the businesses constantly step up,” he said, noting a lot of the same merchants participate repeatedly. “It’s a testament to the owners in town; they really give back to the community.”
