Speaking of Halloween, this year promises to be a “bit” safer when it comes to potential threats from Sex Offenders.
The Indiana Department of Corrections has implemented a statewide program to keep (some) sex offenders away from children.
From a local rag:
As part of the Department of Correction program, sex offenders on parole in Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange and Noble counties are required to stay inside their homes from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with the front porch lights off and a special sign provided to them posted on their doors alerting children and parents that no candy will be handed out there.
Parolees in Whitley, Kosciusko, Wells and Adams counties are ordered to attend meetings at nearby jails during trick-or-treating hours, according to Fort Wayne Parole District Supervisor Dave Wuthrich. There they will receive information about treatment for sex problems and tips on how to stay in the good graces of their parole officers, according to the Department of Correction.
Take note however, this only affects those on parole and probation.
In Allen County, about 100 sex offenders are on parole and will be affected, according to Shimkus.
[...]
In addition, the Allen County Adult Probation Office has ordered the 94 sex offenders currently on probation in the county to adhere to the same rules as those on parole. Armed probation officers will be checking those homes and offenders not in compliance could be referred to a judge for violating probation, according to Chief Probation Officer Eric Zimmerman.
That leaves about 450 or so registered sex offenders in Allen County who are not on parole or probation and are free to hand out candy if they like. Federal statistics gathered throughout the 1990s show that 93 percent of the people who committed sex crimes against juveniles knew their victims beforehand.
Check out either the Indiana Sex Offender’s Registry here, or Family Watch Dog, here so you know where they live so you can avoid them.
AWB
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Be sure to swing by Richard Schrader’s apartment at 2110 Crescent (see the October 16 Sex Offender of the Day entry) if you want to see a porch all nicely decorated for Halloween.
This is a great start! Unfortunately it only deals with the ones on parole, not probation. Odds are, they are not necessarily going to just grab a child on Halloween, these sick individuals seemingly plot and plan their assault, going so far as earning the trust of the child and sometimes the family too, and then making their attack. This alone makes them far more sick individuals than many people seem to acknowledge.
The registries mentioned above are great tools, unfortunately, they only mention the ones that have been caught. It is so important to be aware of your children’s where abouts and any strangers they may come in contact with and make them cautious as well.
Makes me long for the days when we saw almost AS MANY PARENTS out “trick or treating” WITH the kids as we saw trick or treaters…and everyone had a good time.
B.G.