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Post by Lexica on Nov 2, 2014 19:20:53 GMT
During all the years of taking my son trick or treating during his childhood and in giving candy out from my home ever since he outgrew the tradition of going door to door, I have never once given a single thought to the opportunity that Halloween provides to paroled sex offenders.
I never worried about them during my own childhood either. We never had an adult with us while running through numerous neighborhoods with our friends and collecting up candy until we could barely carry our stuffed pillowcases. Back then, the worst thing that I had ever heard happen to a child on Halloween was a bigger child stealing their bag of candy. I do remember one year that there was a man with a hat and trench coat walking around as we were going house to house. He scared us, so we went to the nearest house and told them about him. The man of the house went out with a flashlight to talk to him to see what was going on. We remained trembling on the porch of the house, waiting to find out if we were going to have to return home or if it was safe to continue on until we ran out of houses or energy, whichever came first. It turned out to be the principal of our school, making sure the kids were all safe and that no older kids were taking from the younger ones. We thought he was a "boogieman" and ran to inform an adult, with no idea of what a boggieman really is or does to children. We were terribly sheltered and naive way back then in the late 50s and early 60s. I know I never even mentioned the trench coat man to my mom after we got home.
I just read an article in my local paper about how my county dealt with the many paroled sex offenders living in this area over Halloween night. Apparently the parolees were all given a form of instructions to read and sign, requiring them to stay in their homes between 5 pm to 5 am. They could only open their doors to law enforcement. They were not to decorate their homes or give out candy and had to have all of their exterior lights turned off to deter trick or treaters from knocking on their doors. Then police went to each parolee's home to make sure the parolee was in compliance with the rules.
All of the homeless sex offender parolees in the area, an estimated 100 of them, were required to go to a check-in point in Santa Ana and remain there from 6 to 9 pm where they were given dinner and a movie to watch. This program has been going on for the past 21 years. It is called Operation Boo, and it is statewide. I think it is an awesome deterrent and am wondering if other states have a program in place for Halloween night and the possible opportunities that the night's events gives to sex offenders.
Are you aware of what your area does?
Am I the only one who has never ever given this a thought?
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:06:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2014 19:24:15 GMT
I've honestly never thought about it! I don't even know if there are any sex offenders in our neighbourhood.
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Post by pierkiss on Nov 2, 2014 19:28:49 GMT
Wow. It never occurred to me to think about this. Which is weird, because I do check my area from time to time to see if any sex offenders are located near our house.
I wonder what the compliance rate is for this program? It is an interesting idea. Is this for all offenders or just recent parolees? (Sorry if you already mentioned it, I was up till 3am and am very tired today!).
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Post by Lexica on Nov 2, 2014 19:32:18 GMT
I've honestly never thought about it! I don't even know if there are any sex offenders in our neighbourhood. Ashley, there are websites that list all of the sex offenders and give you their photo, general offense, and approximate address. I don't know about your area, but I can look up my neighborhood on line and see where the closest one to me is located. I've gone on there a few times, just to see how many are in my area. It's surprising. The site I looked at lists all sex offenders, so a rapist of an adult is also shown. It was very surprising to see the number in my city. |
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Post by padresfan619 on Nov 2, 2014 19:32:30 GMT
I live within 500 feet of a school so our immediate area doesn't have any registered sex offenders. Now I know that doesn't mean that there aren't creeps in the neighborhood who haven't been caught yet, but the chances are slimmer.
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NoWomanNoCry
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Post by NoWomanNoCry on Nov 2, 2014 19:37:43 GMT
My town does nothing. We are filled with sex offenders too! I know a lot of them don't really have a home (they use a address of a relative a lot of times but don't stay there) and they jump from couch to couch.
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Post by Lexica on Nov 2, 2014 19:42:48 GMT
Wow. It never occurred to me to think about this. Which is weird, because I do check my area from time to time to see if any sex offenders are located near our house. I wonder what the compliance rate is for this program? It is an interesting idea. Is this for all offenders or just recent parolees? (Sorry if you already mentioned it, I was up till 3am and am very tired today!). According to the article, it is for all identified offenders, not just recent parolees. Aren't sex offenders under the general conditions of parole for the rest of their lives? I know when they move, they are required to check in with the new area to let them know they are living there. It sounds like in my state, if you are registered, you got a visit on Halloween. I'm glad I'm not the only one who never thought of this. I have also looked at the web site many times, just whenever it occurs to me, to get a general idea of how many and where they are located. It seems they are always in the apartment complexes of the city. I would like to think other states are following suit and implementing a program like this. If they don't, I'd be printing out where the offenders were in my area so I didn't take my child trick or treating to that house. The article implies it was a very successful program and that every parolee in a house that was required to be in their home with the lights out was in fact home for the checking procedure, and all of the homeless showed up. I guess a free dinner and movie is pretty appealing if you are homeless. I wonder how they round up all the homeless parolees? Do they carpool to the dinner and movie? It is odd when you give it some thought, but I think it is a great idea and it sounds very successful. |
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Post by melanell on Nov 2, 2014 19:43:15 GMT
Around only the very oldest kids tend to go out alone. The streets are filled with swarms of parents & kids, so even if the older kids are out alone, there are a lot of adults in the area.
Also, some of the towns around here have police patrolling the town the entire night (and sometimes the night before as well).
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:06:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2014 19:44:01 GMT
I've honestly never thought about it! I don't even know if there are any sex offenders in our neighbourhood. Ashley, there are websites that list all of the sex offenders and give you their photo, general offense, and approximate address. I don't know about your area, but I can look up my neighborhood on line and see where the closest one to me is located. I've gone on there a few times, just to see how many are in my area. It's surprising. The site I looked at lists all sex offenders, so a rapist of an adult is also shown. It was very surprising to see the number in my city. No, they don't make that information public here. |
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Post by Lexica on Nov 2, 2014 19:52:42 GMT
[/quote]No, they don't make that information public here. [/quote] Oh, you are in Canada, right? I just copied the site I use that gives me their location. Well, for anyone in the states, you can use this site to locate them. www.publicrecordrepository.com/free-searches/sex-offenders/I just did a quick search and there are 137 in a 5-mile radius around my home!! The list includes anyone who has been arrested for indecent exposure as well as full on rapists and child molesters. The site I pasted goes back to 1992. It also says "Even if a sex offender no longer has to register the record remains public" so I guess they are not required to register for the rest of their lives. I'm curious what the regulations are on that. Anyone know? CORRECTION; There are 137 in a 5-mile radius of my zipcode, not my home! I just changed the parameters to show a map, and there are a few, but not many in my close vicinity. There is an apartment complex nearby and that is where 2 of them are located right now. I like that it shows their actual address now, their face, and their crime. And they look just so normal. Like a guy you would work with or see mowing his lawn while the wife and kids were planting flowers. I know there is no specific "look" at all, but seeing their faces just affirms how you just can't tell by looking at someone. I will definitely be checking this list before going on another date, that's for sure. |
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anniebygaslight
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Post by anniebygaslight on Nov 2, 2014 20:09:27 GMT
Who in their right mind these days would allow their children to go Trick Or Treating without supervision?
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:06:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2014 20:13:02 GMT
Who in their right mind these days would allow their children to go Trick Or Treating without supervision? By children, do you mean young children? Like under the age of....? I let my 13 year old go Trick-or-Treating with her friends, this year and last year. She checked in with me twice via text. She knew what time to be home at and let me know when she was on her way home. She knew not to go into anyone's house, not to talk to strangers, and all of the typical safety stuff that applies when she goes for a bike ride, walk, to the library or video store by herself or with her sisters. I think giving a child of an appropriate age, and appropriate amount of responsibility is OK, and part of being a parent. |
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georgiapea
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Post by georgiapea on Nov 2, 2014 20:17:30 GMT
I feel every community should do everything possible to protect children and wish they all posted notices at sex offenders homes. Some just send a cruiser around checking that their lights are not on, while others post notices on the lawns or doors, notifying everyone that a sex offender lives at that address. I remember a case where the mother defied the order to leave her lights off and the police took both her son (the sex offender) and herself to jail overnight.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Nov 2, 2014 20:22:21 GMT
Wow. It never occurred to me to think about this. Which is weird, because I do check my area from time to time to see if any sex offenders are located near our house. I wonder what the compliance rate is for this program? It is an interesting idea. Is this for all offenders or just recent parolees? (Sorry if you already mentioned it, I was up till 3am and am very tired today!). According to the article, it is for all identified offenders, not just recent parolees. Aren't sex offenders under the general conditions of parole for the rest of their lives? No. People are eventually discharged from parole or supervision. Parole/supervision are a part of the actual sentence, coming after a term of confinement, just like any convicted offender (robbery, murder, burglary, etc.) would receive. You may be thinking of their registration requirements, which are (at least in my state) governed by laws that are separate from the general sentencing laws. Registration can be a lifetime requirement, and failure to comply with the registration rules is an offense unto itself. |
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Post by Lexica on Nov 2, 2014 20:26:37 GMT
Who in their right mind these days would allow their children to go Trick Or Treating without supervision? These days, and young children, I hope the answer is none, in contrast to when I was a child and there were zero adults out on the street with us. I don't remember when I quit going door to door, but I know there were never any adults out with us when I was of that age. Again, that was many many years ago, back in the late 50s and early 60s. Then by the time I had my son in the early 80s, there is no way he would even go next door without me there when he first started going as a little toddler. I wonder when the tradition changed from kids on their own to parents with every group of children? |
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Post by ~KellyAnn~ on Nov 2, 2014 20:52:38 GMT
Trick or Treating forever changed in Wisconsin due to the rape and murder of Lisa French in 1973. I was only 7 years old, but still remember her name and story. Lisa French |
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Post by cmpeter on Nov 2, 2014 21:47:57 GMT
That isn't the law in all communities. I live that close to our elementary school and we have a level 4 sex offender that lives even closer. I remember when he moved in (teen offender living with family) and being surprised that they would allow him to live so close to a school. The police department said that they no longer dictate based on proximity to schools, churches, pre-schools, etc. because there are too many offenders and it's too difficult.
All that being said, I can't say that I have ever given it much thought. When the kids were younger, we always went with them. Dd is 14 and this is the first year that she has gone with a group of friends on their own.
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Post by femalebusiness on Nov 2, 2014 22:11:33 GMT
I just read an article in my local paper about how my county dealt with the many paroled sex offenders living in this area over Halloween night. Apparently the parolees were all given a form of instructions to read and sign, requiring them to stay in their homes between 5 pm to 5 am. They could only open their doors to law enforcement. They were not to decorate their homes or give out candy and had to have all of their exterior lights turned off to deter trick or treaters from knocking on their doors. Then police went to each parolee's home to make sure the parolee was in compliance with the rules. All of the homeless sex offender parolees in the area, an estimated 100 of them, were required to go to a check-in point in Santa Ana and remain there from 6 to 9 pm where they were given dinner and a movie to watch. This program has been going on for the past 21 years. It is called Operation Boo, and it is statewide. I think it is an awesome deterrent and am wondering if other states have a program in place for Halloween night and the possible opportunities that the night's events gives to sex offenders. Sounds like I live near you and I have never heard of this. I think it is a really good idea. I often think that Halloween is a great opportunity for preditors. |
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Post by hop2 on Nov 2, 2014 22:15:11 GMT
I don't think about it because my kids do not go where I don't at least casually know the people. Also sex offenders released or paroled are on a public list, and there are none in my neighborhood. Trust me I would know within three minutes of the info being public, the way the grape vine goes in my neighborhood.
The year of Sandy we did bend the rules a bit and went to a friends neighborhood and only went to houses that my friend, who I trust knew, and I went thru the candy very critically that year.
We never ever thought of child molester on halloween it was always the jerks who would do stuff to the things they gave out (like razorblades in apples kind of thing happened next town over when i was a kid)
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Country Ham
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Jun 25, 2014 19:32:08 GMT
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Post by Country Ham on Nov 2, 2014 22:23:50 GMT
Just the homeless? Our county is small and not sure we would even have any homeless sex offenders or the venue to host an event like that. I wonder why homeless though. Wouldn't trick or treaters have a better chance of coming across an offender while knocking on random doors? The only offenders I know personally are married with their own children and their offenses were 15 plus years ago.
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smartypants71
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Post by smartypants71 on Nov 2, 2014 22:28:20 GMT
Who in their right mind these days would allow their children to go Trick Or Treating without supervision? I think I am in my right mind and I let my DS go ToTing with 5 of his friends with no adult supervision. ETA: DS will be 13 next week. We have 4 sex offenders in my town. Only one is nearby and he is low risk and not in the area where he was ToTing. The other 3 are on the other side of the freeway |
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suzastampin
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Post by suzastampin on Nov 2, 2014 22:57:22 GMT
In this area of NY, they can not dress up, have their light on for kids, nor leave their home during trick or treat hours. Also, parole officers stop by to check on them.
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Post by Lexica on Nov 2, 2014 22:58:00 GMT
Just the homeless? Our county is small and not sure we would even have any homeless sex offenders or the venue to host an event like that. I wonder why homeless though. Wouldn't trick or treaters have a better chance of coming across an offender while knocking on random doors? The only offenders I know personally are married with their own children and their offenses were 15 plus years ago. It wasn't just the homeless parolees. They were the only ones who gathered to check in at a specific location and were held there during prime trick or treating hours. The offenders who lived in houses or apartments were the ones required to remain in their homes, not decorate or have their exterior lights turned on and only allowed to open the door to police officials. They were required to remain inside their homes during Halloween. The others had no home, so they were required to appear at that location so they could be monitored there. The meal and movie were just to keep them occupied and probably to motivate them to show up. If I lived in or near Santa Ana, I wouldn't be thrilled to have them required to show up in my city for this monitoring though. I think the idea is great. Make sure you know where they are on this one specific night to let families feel a little bit safer while they trick or treat. I am quite interested to know how they got them there and how they were returned to the area they were living. Surely they didn't just let them go into the neighborhoods, did they? Would they bus them in and out? And where are all these people living anyway? I know there are homeless living in the beach areas, and a tremendous amount in Los Angeles, but where in Orange County do we have a large amount of homeless people living? Now I'm curious as to how they got them to and from this check in. |
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Post by epeanymous on Nov 3, 2014 0:10:14 GMT
Honestly, we have registered sex offenders in my general area (I am in the middle of a large city and the neighborhoods aren't that well-defined), but I don't worry about them that much. "That much" isn't the same as "not at all," and I am not letting my eight-year-old wander about unsupervised, but it isn't big for me.
I think that is because as I have posted, I was a criminal defense attorney. I had a lot of clients charged with child molestation. 100% of them knew the victims. Almost all of them were related to (or stepparents to, so semi-related to) their victims, and the rest of them were people who were otherwise in trusted positions with respect to kids. That I worry about, although the things you do to protect your kids are different than the things you would do if the primary danger came from strangers.
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johnnysmom
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Post by johnnysmom on Nov 3, 2014 0:12:54 GMT
Who in their right mind these days would allow their children to go Trick Or Treating without supervision? By children, do you mean young children? Like under the age of....? I let my 13 year old go Trick-or-Treating with her friends, this year and last year. She checked in with me twice via text. She knew what time to be home at and let me know when she was on her way home. She knew not to go into anyone's house, not to talk to strangers, and all of the typical safety stuff that applies when she goes for a bike ride, walk, to the library or video store by herself or with her sisters. I think giving a child of an appropriate age, and appropriate amount of responsibility is OK, and part of being a parent. I agree w/ this. DS13 went with a group of 6 or so this year (can't remember what he did last year, but it was probably similar). He had his phone w/ him the whole time, stopped by our house to T-or-T about mid-trip then came back afterwards to change before going to a friend's backyard campfire. Around here kids under 11 or so are with parents/adults, beyond that they're in groups, but there's usually lots of adults around in general. As for the sex offenders, we have a handful around (small town) but last I checked a couple months ago they weren't for offenses against children. |
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Post by ScrapsontheRocks on Nov 3, 2014 8:19:05 GMT
Interesting question! As always, I am in awe of the resources available (though perhaps not everywhere in the States/ Canada) to assist with these thorny issues.
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