TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Be on guard on Halloween

ADVERTISEMENT

By LISA A. DAVIS

ldavis@tampatrib.com

Published: October 25, 2009

Updated: 10/25/2009 12:33 am

Through the decades, several Halloween myths have surfaced about the dangers of trick-or-treating. Among them: Evil people hide razors in apples while others taint candy.

But there's one more myth that really gets parents' attention these days - the one about Halloween being a night when sexual offenders and predators are even more on the prowl.

The myth buster isn't that there aren't any predators around on Halloween. They're certainly out there. The myth, says Jill Levenson, a human services professor at Lynn University in Boca Raton and a licensed clinical social worker, is that there is a spike in sex crimes against children on Halloween.

There isn't.
Levenson and a group of colleagues from across the country conducted a study of child sex crime rates and published results in Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment.

They looked at nine years of data near Halloween - from 1997 through 2005 - and examined 67,045 non-familial sex crimes against children 12 years and younger. The offenses included forcible sodomy, forcible rape, statutory rape, sexual assault with an object, child pornography-related crimes and forcible fondling.

"What we found was, obviously, there are cases of children being assaulted on Halloween, but the numbers aren't any different than any other day," Levenson said. "...There doesn't seem to be any significant cause for alarm."

The study found that sex crimes against children by non-relatives accounted for two out of every 1,000 crimes on Halloween.
Levenson said her group decided to do an empirical examination of the rate of sex crimes against children on the holiday because they noticed a nationwide push by law enforcement agencies on policies pertaining to sexual offenders on Halloween.
State legislation
While some agencies take it upon themselves to do random checks on offenders around the holiday to make sure they're where they're supposed to be, some states have gone as far as enacting legislation prohibiting offenders from participating in Halloween activities.

In North Carolina, South Carolina, California, New York, Virginia and Wisconsin, registered sex offenders are prohibited from going out or opening their doors on Halloween. In New Jersey, sex offenders caught giving out candy are in violation of probation and can face up to three years in prison. Additional states have similar laws.

While Florida doesn't have laws banning sexual offenders from celebrating Halloween, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Jo Ellyn Rackleff, they advise sex offenders still under state supervision that's it's "in their best interest" not to participate in Halloween activities. Most, she said, are prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children.

The restrictions for those convicts are: Don't give out candy or other treats; turn off porch lights, close blinds; no outside decorations to attract children; don't answer the door to trick-or-treaters; don't dress in a costume or masks; and don't attend Halloween parties where children will be present.

To ensure offenders are following their probation officer's warnings, Rackleff said, they will be conducting surprise home visits and increasing surveillance on them around the holiday.

Florida has more than 53,000 registered sexual offenders and predators. Of those, more than 9,000 are on state supervision.

For the past two years, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has created Halloween-themed public service announcements warning parents of the potential dangers of trick-or-treating.

Spooky music plays briefly followed by a message: "We all want to keep our children safe, especially around Halloween." Listeners are then prompted to log onto www.flsexoffender.net.

"Help keep our communities and your children safe. Sign up for alerts," the announcer continues in the 30-second spot.

Take a proactive approach

Users of the offender Web site can search for sex offenders and predators in their area. They can also sign up for alerts notifying them when offenders move into their neighborhood. Each month, about 3,000 sex offenders or predators change their address, said Mike Morrison, an FDLE spokesman.

"Children may find themselves in unfamiliar neighborhoods and the alert system is a proactive approach," he said.

Since the launch of the e-mail alert system in March 2008, more than 83,000 people have signed up, he said, and 1.3 million alerts have been e-mailed.

"We're quite proud of that," he said.

Some of those numbers come from last year's Halloween public service announcement, he said. They had a 100 percent increase in alert registrations.

"Basically, it was a success and that's good," Morrison said.

Morrison acknowledges and agrees with Levenson's study results, but thinks the public service announcements around Halloween are invaluable.

"It's not meant to alarm anyone; it's meant to alert them," he said. "It's a safety tool. It's not an end-all, be-all."
Levenson says that although there's merit to taking some precautions at Halloween, she wonders whether law enforcement resources are better spent on crimes and incidents that increase on Halloween.

She points to theft, which, in looking at 2005 statistics, the study found increased around Halloween by 32 percent, and vandalism or destruction of property, which increased by 21 percent. Levenson also pointed out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that children are four times more likely to be struck by a car and killed on Halloween than any other time, according to states' data.

"We're not saying that parents don't have a need for caution," Levenson said. "The more police or law enforcement resources diverted to sexual offenders might take away from actual crime and vehicle crashes that are more likely to occur," she said.

Pinellas County sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Nestor, who recently moved to the agency's public information office after a three-year stint on the Sexual Predator-Offenders Track Unit, says the number of attacks on children doesn't increase on Halloween but the day still warrants attention.

Pinellas deputies often check in with sexual offenders and predators around Halloween, reminding them what they can and cannot do.

At the same time, Nestor said, parents need to be vigilant, too.

"Parents are always told children should be monitored and they should be watched," he said.

And always, he said, check the sex offender/predator registry online.

"The biggest thing is, don't be lulled into a false sense of security because you know where these offenders are," he said. "It's the ones we don't know about you need to worry about."

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT