SEBASTIAN COUNTY (KFSM) – Deputies with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office are working to make sure your child stays safe while trick – or – treating this Halloween. Throughout the wee, deputies will be making sure all sex offenders in the area know the proper protocol for Halloween.
Deputies do this so parents and their little ones know what homes not to go to while your collecting candy.
After deputies perform compliance checks, the sex offenders are asked to put up a sign to lets parents know to skip their home. The parents will know to skip that house by seeing a sign that has a bright pumpkin that has a circle with a slash through it.
Right now, the sheriff’s office said they’re 85 registered sex offenders throughout county limits. The high number means deputies are keeping a very close eye on where sex offenders are living and what they’re doing.
Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said parents can get a head start in making sure their kids stay safe this Halloween by going online. “They can log onto the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Department website and start looking and identifying known sex offenders that live in your area,” said Hollenbeck.
Hollenbeck said that parents need to talk with their children about safety on Halloween, but not just about sex offenders. According to Hollenbeck, “We have traffic accidents where children will run in front of a vehicle and get hit.”
Deputies will also be reaching out to area schools in Sebastian County to give out flyers to kids on how to stay safe this holiday.