Halloween is a time for costumes, parties and seeking out some chills and thrills. It is also when sex offenders are placed in the spotlight as law enforcement, neighborhood watch groups and local media tell parents their little ghosts and goblins are in imminent danger of becoming prey. The result is a slew of policies aimed at keeping sex offenders off the streets and in their homes on Halloween – usually with the doors locked and the lights off. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreTag: Halloween
Halloween & Sex Crime: Myth vs. Reality
It is almost Halloween, and as we begin to feel a chill in the air in the northern hemisphere, we also feel the excitement of that annual ritual of trick or treating. But while children look forward to a night of ghouls, ghosts, goblins and goodies, parents ponder the presence of real-life demons in the neighborhood: registered sex offenders. States, municipalities, and parole departments have adopted policies banning known sex offenders from Halloween activities (or, in some jurisdictions, from even leaving their homes on Halloween), based on the concern that…
Read MoreThis is getting boring, but it’s Halloween again
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…
Read MoreFear the Bogeyman: Sex Offender Panic on Halloween
It can be said that sex offenders are the new bogeymen, mythical monsters invented to scare children into social order. People convicted of sex offenses, and subsequently placed on the public registry, are transformed into a concept of evil, which is then personified as a group of faceless, terrifying, and predatory devils. It would appear that this strategy is used to keep sex offenders at a distance, in turn keeping our children and families safe from harm. But in reality, such fantasy does just the opposite: ignoring the realities of…
Read MoreTricks-Not-Treats: Halloween Predator Panic Laws
I remember coming home from “trick-or-treating” as a child and turning over my bag of candy to my mother for inspection. After all, one of our neighbors could have slipped rat poison in our Tootsie Rolls or razor blades in our apples. Aside from certain choice pieces missing as a result of mom’s ingestion… er, “inspection” process, my mother never found any razor blades or rat poison in our Halloween Candy. Despite virtually no confirmed cases of Halloween poisonings, the myth has remained a constant in our culture [1]. Full…
Read MoreOperation Boo
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is implementing the 20th Annual “Operation Boo.” Operation Boo helps protect children from sexual predators during Halloween and its new educational component helps parents and teachers show kids how to stay away from potential sexual predators year round. Full Article
Read MoreOrange Joins Cities Changing Sex Offender Bans
The city of Orange is set to join a growing list of cities revising bans on registered sex offenders in parks in the wake of recent state appeals court rulings. … Orange has already been served with a lawsuit, Lindsay v. City of Orange, challenging its laws banning sex offenders in parks. The suit alleges the entire ordinance must be repealed, but the city attorney is recommending only one section pertaining to parks be removed. Full Article
Read MoreSheriff’s office conducts compliance checks, probation searches of local sex offenders
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office recently conducted additional compliance checks and probation searches of local sex offenders during Halloween. The compliance checks were conducted took place from Oct. 28 through Oct. 31, according to Lt. Steve Brooks. On Oct. 28, deputies contacted and searched 10 sex offenders who all appeared to be within compliance, Brooks said. Full Article
Read More‘Operation Boo’ nets convicted pedophiles
PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) — Police officers and parole agents were out in force in the San Gabriel Valley on Halloween night, making sure convicted pedophiles weren’t trying to lure trick-or-treaters into their homes. It was all part of “Operation Boo.” At a motel in El Monte, officers arrested a registered sex offender. Authorities say he violated his parole by keeping Halloween candies in his room. “This (candy) is what we were looking for, and he had it in a way where you could distribute it to trick-or-treaters,” state parole agent Bernard Villa…
Read MoreAZ: Professor – Halloween sex offender scare is a myth (CBS5 News)
PHOENIX (CBS5) – It’s something you hear about every Halloween – to be on the lookout for convicted sex offenders preying on Valley children. But CBS 5 News has learned that the Halloween sex offender scare may be just a myth. CBS 5 News contacted law enforcement agencies in Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale, Peoria, Scottsdale and Surprise. None of the police departments have reported any problems involving a sex offender and children on Halloween, over the past five years. Full Article
Read MoreHalloween Sex Offender Laws Are Unjustified
Kids aren’t the only ones letting their imaginations’ fears run wild on Halloween: parents, politicians, and police officers across the country are continuing to support laws that ban registered sex offenders from participating in Halloween, despite evidence that these policies are unnecessary and harmful. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Councilman tables own proposed ordinance on sex offenders
AMHERST — A proposed ban which would have prevented registered sex offenders living within the city limits from participating in Halloween will have to wait.At a committee meeting Monday, Phil Van Treuren made a motion to table the ordinance which he promoted one week ago through a news release.Van Treuren said his proposed ordinance was recommended after seeing the Village of Orwell in Ashtabula County adopt a similar ordinance recently, prohibiting sex offenders from answering their door during and around Halloween. After getting feedback from council members and Law Director…
Read MoreNo evidence of more sadism, sex crimes during Halloween
Every year, parents nationwide are vocal about the dangers of Halloween. Child abduction, poisonous candy and cryptic messages and pranks from Halloween sadists are just a few of the concerns expressed each year by 24 percent of parents with children under 12 years old, according to a 2011 Harris Interactive poll. However, empirical evidence doesn’t validate such concerns. Full Article
Read MoreFear the Bogeyman: Sex Offender Panic on Halloween
It can be said that sex offenders are the new bogeymen, mythical monsters invented to scare children into social order. People convicted of sex offenses, and subsequently placed on the public registry, are transformed into a concept of evil, which is then personified as a group of faceless, terrifying, and predatory devils. It would appear that this strategy is used to keep sex offenders at a distance, in turn keeping our children and families safe from harm. But in reality, such fantasy does just the opposite: ignoring the realities of…
Read MoreBubba the Love Sponge warns communities about sexual offenders
It’s nearly Halloween. A time for little ghouls and goblins to dress up for Trick or Treat. Tampa radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge is worried about some real scary people. Bubba asked listeners to let him know where sexual offenders are located in their neighborhoods. He says he then went onto the FDLE web site to verify the information and went says he went one step further to verify the offenders information on individual county law enforcement web sites. Bubba then had yard signs printed on a red background with bold…
Read MoreManufacturing Fear: Halloween Laws for Sex Offenders
In North Carolina, a sheriff tells parents to check the online sex offender registry before allowing children to trick-or-treat. In Montana, a town offers a “trunk-or-treat” event where kids can get Halloween candy from trunks of cars in a parking lot to avoid potential danger. In New York, “Operation Halloween: Zero Tolerance” prohibits sex offenders from wearing masks or costumes or answering their doors on Halloween, and, as a parole source says, “There is certainly nothing more frightening than the thought of one of these men opening their door to…
Read MoreCity of Orange Gives Final Approval to Repeal of Sex Offender Ordinance
The City Council of the City of Orange, in a vote of 4 to 1, gave final approval on October 8 to repeal a city law that required registered citizens to post a sign in front of their residence on Halloween. The City’s first vote on this issue took place on September 24, only six days after a lawsuit was filed in federal district court challenging the ordinance. Prior to filing the lawsuit, the City was asked on September 3 to repeal the ordinance, but failed to consider the issue…
Read MoreCalifornia Sex Offenders Get Halloween Victory
An Orange, Calif., ordinance that required registered sex offenders to post a sign on their front door on Halloween has been repealed, less than a week after a federal lawsuit was filed claiming the practice was unconstitutional. For the approximately 100 registered sex offenders in the city of Orange, it was a matter of their own personal safety, said Janice Bellucci, an attorney representing the plaintiff and head of California Reform Our Sex Offender Laws, an advocacy group that fights for the civil rights of registered sex offenders. “It means…
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