Sheriff’s Office Offers Halloween Safety Advice

This Halloween the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office will be closely monitoring the residential areas of Vanderburgh County. Sheriff’s deputies will be watching for unsafe, mischievous and suspicious activity.

Sheriff Dave Wedding stated, “With the sun setting just before 6:00 PM, motorists should watch for trick-or-treaters in or near neighborhood roadways and reduce their speed accordingly.”

Trick-or-treaters are encouraged to visit the homes of people they know well and stay within their neighborhood. If trick-or-treaters are going to be meeting with friends to trick-or-treat in other areas, parents are encouraged to check the sex offender website for potential sex offenders in those neighborhoods.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office will be paying special attention to the neighborhoods in which registered sex offenders live. Registered sex offenders who are on parole will be required to: place a sign on their door indicating that their residence will not be giving out candy, keep their exterior lights off, and display no outdoor Halloween decorations. The Sheriff’s Office Sex and Violent Offender Unit and the Indiana Department of Corrections will be making increased random checks on registered sex offenders  to verify their compliance with all stipulations established for them.

The Sheriff’s Office offers the following safety tips to help insure this Halloween is a safe one:

• Motorists should keep a careful eye out for kids who may be difficult to see and may run unexpectedly from in between parked cars and other places.
• Trick-or-treating should be done with adult supervision and in groups.
• Parents, if your trick-or-treaters are old enough to walk the neighborhood on their own, make sure you know their intended route. Provide them with a cell phone and make sure they stay within a familiar area.
• Trick-or-treaters should never enter the home of someone who is not well known to them.
• Costumes that do not include a mask or anything that might obscure the child’s vision are preferable.
• Costumes should be constructed so that children can move easily and not create a tripping hazard.
• Trick-or-treating should be completed before dark. Trick-or-treaters should have light colored/reflective clothing on and have a flashlight.
• Parents should inspect all treats before they are eaten. Anything that is not commercially produced or appears to have had the seal or packaging tampered with should be discarded.
• Homeowners who welcome trick-or-treaters should make sure their homes are well lit and that there are no obstacles to those visiting the home.
• Homeowners should give commercially produced treats, gift certificates or other non-food related items (school pencils, stickers, etc).
• If you find anything or see anything suspicious in nature, report it to the Sheriff’s Office via 911.

The men and women of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office hope everyone has a safe and memorable Halloween this year.