I really thought this year was going to be different. Last year the “big, bad sex offender at Halloween” hype started as early as August and was in full swing in September. This year, all was quiet on the scare tactics front through the end of September and was slow going into October. However, the past few days have picked up speed, and some of the articles are so self-righteously infuriating about how they are making
Halloween safer for children by–take your pick–visiting all registrants in their district on Halloween/not allowing registrants to decorate; hand out candy; wear costumes; leave their houses; have their lights on/requiring registrants to come to “informational” meetings or seminars/some other equally idiotic nonsense. Most places limit the restrictions to those on parole or probation, but some do not. Full Opinion Piece
Monthly Meetings: Jan 16 Recording Uplaoded Details / Recordings
Which brings us back to this..in case one missed it on the home page:
http://sajrt.blogspot.com/2014/10/halloween-sex-crime-myth-vs-reality.html
This is nuts . What if I lived with my parents/didn’t own the house and they decorated the house anyways? Or, what if I had a religious requirement to wear a robe and the police stated it was a costume? What if? This is nuts and if it occurred in my neighborhood , I would sue!
Regarding the question living with your parents, that was a concern raised in the Simi Valley lawsuit and why non-registrant cohabitants were included as plaintiffs. The requirement to post a sign was removed from the ordinance after the judge issued a TRO but the rest of the ordinance remained intact. Although not stated/amended in the ordinance, it is my understanding the settlement came with assurances that registrants would not be charged if others in the household did those prohibited things, that they are specifically applicable to the registrant. Of course, I would rather be safe than sorry and just not go home until 12:01 a.m. on November 1st if family or roommates are going to have decorations, leave the lights on and open the door to trick-or-treaters.
Two detectives showed up at my door yesterday morning to hand me a copy of the ordinance. They have to stop at every applicable registrant’s home and hand it to them in person.
In Missouri, ALL registrants, even those off paper, must stay in their own houses for several hours on October 31. Last I heard, at least for those off paper, that is called “arrest and incarceration.”
Http , I wouldn’t have answered the door ! I no longer do !
Fortunately I live in a community where the law enforcement folks have represented themselves to be level headed, professional and courteous and not “out to get registrants” just because they’re registrants. The elected leadership, not so much. Although they probably wouldn’t come out and say it, the look on their faces implied they would rather be doing other duties rather than handing out pieces of paper off of a list of addresses they were given.