Extra Sheriff’s Deputes on patrol for sex offenders Halloween night
While tens of thousands of York County children and their parents are trick-or-treating tonight, York County Sheriff’s Deputies will be on a trick-or-treat hunt of their own — for registered sex offenders.
York County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Trent Faris.
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Faris says while there is nothing preventing children and their families from approaching a registered sex offender’s home, Sheriff Burce Bryant doesn’t recommend it.
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Faris says while authorities will be handling those offenders, there are simple steps parents can take to keep their kids as they trick-or-treat.
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Faris encourages parents to go with their children and make trick-or-treating a family event, only trick-or-treat at houses that are well lit and never let kids enter a home without their parents’ permission.
Sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rate of all criminals except murderers, according to dozens of university, federal and state studies. Not all sex offenders have victimized children, and over 1/3 of sex crimes perpetrated against children are committed by other children. 95% of kids are abused by family or friends who aren’t on the registry. Dr. Jill Levenson’s 2009 study, “How Safe are Trick-or-Treaters: Child Sex Crime Rates on Halloween?” found that non-familial child sexual abuse accounted for less than .2% on Halloween. Why is law enforcement spreading such glaring myths, and why is the media latching on??