TERRELL, Texas — Over 90 people have been recognized in a recently formed police-business partnership in Terrell, Texas — the Good Citizens Appreciation Program (GCAP).
TERRELL, Texas — Over 90 people have been recognized in a recently formed police-business partnership in Terrell, Texas — the Good Citizens Appreciation Program (GCAP).
The partnership, between the Terrell Police Department and local businesses including Buc-ee’s, Dairy Queen, Whataburger, Shipley’s Donuts, QuickTrip, Sonic, and others, was established in September 2016 to recognize great citizenship.
Recently, Terrell Police Department officer Kenneth Moore was patrolling an area of the city where accidents frequently occur, primarily due to failure to signal lane change and speeding, according to Terrell Police Department Captain A.D. Sansom.
“The officer noticed something that caught his eye, a citizen driving safely, courteously and obeying the law,” stated Sansom. “The officer was struck by this person's attention to responsible driving.”
“On this particular day, the citizen was contacted and given a coupon for a free ice cream cone,” stated Sansom. “The citizen did not wish for their photo or name to be publicized, but both he and his wife were very appreciative to the officer for simply taking time out of his day to recognize someone doing the right thing.”
“The idea is to reinforce good citizenship, as expressed in many different ways, to those citizens who do their part, even when nobody is looking, to continue to make the City of Terrell a friendly place and a safe place,” stated Sansom. “GCAP appreciation may come as a result of helping someone push a stalled car out of the road, helping a lost citizen, calling-in on a suspicious person or many other notable acts of kindness and citizenship.”
Since the program started, Terrell police have handed out over 90 GCAP gifts to worthy citizens, according to Sansom.
"We are always supported by the people of Terrell,” Terrell Police Department Chief Jody L. Lay stated. “We wanted to come up with some sort of way of expressing our gratitude for that support.”
“The GCAP program, the idea of a member of the department, is a great program that allows us to do just that,” said Lay. “We are very appreciative to our business partners for their help with this program and know we could never pull this off without them.”
"It takes a community to police a community. This is our city. It is a great city full of great citizens.” — The men and women of the Terrell Police Department.
