CNN
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As people stock up on Halloween candy, some cities and states are imposing extra measures to make sure sex offenders don’t respond when little ghouls and goblins knock on their door.
In several states, including Georgia and California, some supervised sex offenders are not allowed contact with children under 18. With that in mind, law enforcement takes action on Halloween to make sure sex offenders don’t get near anything or anything. caterers.
“I don’t let my kids roam the neighborhood alone on Halloween for a lot of reasons,” said Abony Wilkins of Indianapolis. “I feel a little better knowing that sex offenders are under surveillance that day. Once you’ve robbed a child of their innocence, I have no concerns for your feelings as an individual.
Here’s what some states and jurisdictions are doing.
California sends parole officers to perform house checks on sex offenders who are not permitted to have contact with children. During checks, offenders can only open their doors to law enforcement patrolling their neighborhoods to ensure they are not participating in Halloween activities, said Tessa Outhyse, spokeswoman for the Department of state correctional and rehabilitative services.
In Georgia, supervised sex offenders are subject to Department of Community Supervision conditions, which allow authorities to visit their homes during Halloween. Officers make sure offenders don’t decorate their homes, leave lights on or answer the door for deceivers, said Brian Tukes, the agency’s director of external affairs.
Other states, including Tennessee and Missouri, also conduct unannounced Halloween house checks on sex offenders.
Critics have called some of these measures invasive and scaremongering, saying data shows the vast majority of child sex crimes are committed by family members or acquaintances – not strangers. More than 90% of child victims know their abuser, according to statistics cited by the California Department of Justice.
And there is no evidence that offenders target children more on Halloween than on other days.
But law enforcement errs on the side of caution.
California requires supervised sex offenders to stay indoors on Halloween night between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., Outhyse said.
During those hours, they are not allowed to answer the door for cheaters, display decorations that would attract children or turn on their lights, she said.
In Missouri, some registered sex offenders must stay indoors on Halloween night — unless they have to leave for work or for medical emergencies.
In Newton County, Georgia, the sheriff’s office held annual closings on Halloween night. Authorities round up sex offenders in a controlled environment, such as the sheriff’s office, during the evening hours while the children are cheating or dealing.
During segregations, sex offenders hear from a judge, parole officers, and other guest speakers.
Caitlin Jett, spokeswoman for the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, declined to comment on whether another lockdown is planned for this year.
“Exact details of our operation are not being provided to the public,” Jett told CNN.
In the past, authorities in some cities in South Carolina and Virginia have also herded sex offenders into the sheriff’s office during deception hours, a move they say is necessary to keep children safe.
But the sex offenders pushed back. In 2020, they sued a western North Carolina county that forced them to gather at the National Guard Arsenal on Halloween night, claiming the mandatory meeting violated their constitutional rights.
In Missouri, some sex offenders are required to post a sign that reads “no sweets or treats in this residence.”
In Jacksonville, Florida, sex offenders are legally required to post a sign outside their homes with the words “No sweets or treats here” to warn cheaters.
But these signs have faced legal challenges.
Several sex offenders sued the city of Jacksonville this year, calling the sign unconstitutional. The city said it will not enforce the law while the lawsuit is ongoing.
In Georgia, a group of registered sex offenders filed a federal complaint against the Butts County Sheriff’s Office in 2019 over similar signs, accusing authorities of trespassing on their private property to post them. The attackers said the signs caused them anxiety and humiliation. A federal judge ruled in favor of the sex offenders.
A dark house on Halloween night doesn’t always mean the residents are away or out of candy. It could also be a sign that someone inside is a registered sex offender.
In states like Georgia, Missouri, Texas and California, sex offenders under supervision must keep their lights off and their doors locked between a specified amount of time on Halloween night.
Some states and local jurisdictions provide a sex offender locator that parents can access before their kids go out for treats.
In Georgia, Newton County officials are sharing Halloween safety tips that include an app to locate nearby sex offenders, said Jett, the spokesperson.
California also provides a sex offender locator in its “Operation Boo” guide. for parents on Halloween, as well as videos on how to talk to children about safety.
“While cases of sexual abuse or kidnapping weren’t prevalent on Halloween night in California…we still want to offer some traditional safety tips if you’re planning on going out with your family,” says the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “Awareness can go a long way in keeping children and adolescents safe.”
Authorities in Indianapolis, where Wilkins lives with her three young children, have required paroled sex offenders to observe a curfew on Halloween nights and stay home with their lights off and no candy handed out.
The state sheriff’s department also publishes an interactive map showing where sex offenders live.
Before moving into her neighborhood, Wilkins mapped out any registered sex offenders nearby and makes sure her children avoid those homes.
“They know not to go anywhere near these houses,” she told CNN. “I told them that when you see this man, you shouldn’t have conversations with him.”