Sex offenders across the country should watch out.  More and more local and state police are jumping in on what has been termed “Halloween round-ups” – which are essentially the governments’ attempts at keeping dangerous sex offenders off the streets  More specifically, the authorities wish to make sure that sex offenders are not using the child-centric holiday to try to lure unsuspecting trick-or-treaters into their homes.

A typical example of a round-up – can be found in Stanislaus County, California.  In an operation which has been ongoing for 17 years, police and local authorities try to help keep children safe in what is called Operation Boo.  In the operation, local state parole agents work with police to issue compliance checks on sex offenders, making sure they are staying away from children.

It may not be widely known, but in many places it is not lawful for convicted sex offenders to hand out children to children on Halloween.  In fact, because there are many “sex offender” maps available to parents online, it is advisable that parents make use of these tools and map out their routes in advance.  This will allow parents to purposefully avoid many of the wrong homes in the first place.

Parents should discuss Halloween safety tips with their children before going out trick-or-treating.  Though the authorities in many places will do their part – safety often comes down to following common sense guidelines.  Here are a few:

—Advise children to never go in a stangers home while trick-or-treating.  Most people that invite a child into their home on Halloween are good people, and just want to ask the child to wait while they go fetch candy, or other treats.  But, adults handing out candy will understand if a child politely delines to enter the home.  Tell a child to be suspicious of any adult that is too insistent that the child enter.

—Similar to the last tip, instruct children not to get into the car with strangers.

—Parents should teach reinforce instructions on how to properly cross the street and wait at intersections.

—Parents should inspect all candy and treats given to children before consumption

—For parents with older children, talk to them about resisting peer pressure.  Halloween can come with lots of drinking and drug use, especially in clubs and at parties.  Instruct your children on how to resist pressure to follow the crowd when the crowd is doing wrong.

Source: http://www.modbee.com/2011/10/29/1925981/knock-on-their-doors-wont-be-for.html