Halloween safety tips -- Tip Sheet Thursday
Boo; Halloween is tomorrow! Scared yet? (That your kid will get chocolate on his costume at the daytime Halloween party; that your boss will see you sneaking out for the Halloween parade and stop you in your tracks; that those cute olive eyeballs you made won't go over well?) Aside from those fears, there's the serious issue of safety for trick-or-treaters. AAA has these tips for us:
"--Select highly visible costumes. Look for light, bright and reflective costumes that make trick-or-treaters easy to see. Add reflective tape to costumes and treat buckets and bags to increase visibility.
"--Make sure costumes fit well. Have trick-or-treaters try on, walk and play in costumes and shoes in advance to check fit. Make sure nothing comes loose or might cause the child to trip. Check that wigs or other accessories do not obstruct the child’s view.
"--Review safety precautions with children. Include traffic safety rules in the review, such as staying on the sidewalk, crossing the street at crosswalks, avoiding walking in front of, behind or between parked cars and stopping at driveways to make sure no vehicles are coming in and out.
"--Plan trick-or-treating route and supervision in advance. Avoid areas with heavy vehicle traffic and look for well-lit streets with sidewalks. Make arrangements for an adult or a responsible teen to accompany younger trick-or-treaters.
"--Get a flashlight with fresh batteries. A flashlight can help trick-or-treaters see and be seen, but it should never be directed at someone’s eyes including those of passing motorists.
And here are more tips from local law-enforcement agencies, courtesy of Peter Hermann's Baltimore Crime Beat blog. Remember that the big pumpkin sign you might see outside a house actually may mean a sex offender is living there, so keep away. (The pumpkin, according to Hermann, will look "stern" and have a sign saying "No candy at this residence.")
Comments
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/press/rsorp94pr.htm
Highlights include the following:
* Released prisoners with the highest rearrest rates were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), larcenists (74.6%), motor vehicle thieves (78.8%), those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property (77.4%), and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons (70.2%).
* Within 3 years, 2.5% of released rapists were arrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for homicide.
* The 272,111 offenders discharged in 1994 had accumulated 4.1 million arrest charges before their most recent imprisonment and another 744,000 charges within 3 years of release.
Posted by: MSLGWCEO | October 30, 2008 12:27 PM
You will all be very happy and relieved to know, that there has NEVER been a Halloweener in the history of the United States that has ever been molested by a registered sex offender.
Both Halloween and Election Day are coming. So, we’re not at all surprised that politicians across the nation are once again posing as Heroes in the fight against the Great Sex Offender Trick-or-Treat Bogeyman. Under the banner of protecting children, they’re restricting the actions of all sex offenders on Halloween, and sending out hordes of probation officers to make sure they stay in their homes (and, in some states, target themselves by posting “No Candy Here” signs), while expecting sheriff and police officials to monitor sex offender compliance on an already especially busy night.
blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq...
It amazes me that it can be proved with government statics that there has NEVER been a case where a REGISTERED sex offender EVER molested a trick or treater at their door. Or harmed them in any way. So what is the problem here.
Well, politicians are the real scary ones out there. They and the news media for ratings and votes will do and say anything. That’s the bottom line.
When I grew up, I heard some of my elders tell me not to drink in that fountain because a black man or woman would drink from it. I always asked why could I not drink there? Would I get germs??? Would it make me sick??
In today’s society, the politician’s have lied to the public about the recidivism rates of sex offenders. Politician’s have lied to the public about “stranger danger” as most offenses occur between a family member or someone the victim knows. These are facts not just spouting’s.
Parents do need to keep an eye on their children as they always have, but there is no reason to believe that someone is lurking around the corner or behind every bush that is going to take an hurt your child.
Happy Halloween. Beware of politicians. They are the scariest of them all.
Only one who is inherently interested in fear mongering would use Halloween to petrify the public into thinking that Halloween is unsafe because of the presence of RSO’s. To calculate risk in epidemiology, you divide the number of cases divided by the population of interest. In this case it would be 1/650,000. The risk is so incredibly low that my calculator gives the division an error!!!!!! ” That is only for 1 year, now times that by say, 50 years. OH MY! Fear mongering is what the entertainment news media and politicians are MORE concerned about than protecting children.
MSLGWCEO at www.cfcoklahoma.org
Posted by: MSLGWCEO | October 30, 2008 1:29 PM
Here's another source for safety tips on costumes and face paint:
http://www.momlogic.com/2008/10/post_31.php
Posted by: Kate Shatzkin | October 30, 2008 1:57 PM