Mapping a Safe Trick-or-Treating Route on Halloween

Halloween is next week, have you mapped out a safe trick-or-treating route for your kids? The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says there are over 602,189 registered sex offenders in the United States alone. That's a lot of houses to avoid next week. I found at least 10 sex offenders within my neighborhood. Now that's unnerving, since I live in one of the safest neighborhoods in the Bay Area. The scary thing is most of them have committed crimes against children.

There are many resources available online to help parents determine what houses they should avoid on this day, so use them. Some states have gone as far as setting up curfews for sex offenders, and even require them to turn off the lights and post "No Candy" signs outside their doors. But despite these efforts, it's always a good idea to take extra precautions even if you're heading out to a street fair or school event on October 31st.

Here are a few websites you want to visit before you take the kids trick-or-treating:

• National Alert Registry: Offers some Halloween tips, and Child ID Kits.
• National Sex Offender Public Website: Hosts public sexual offender registries.
• About.com: A list of sex offender registry web sites for all 50 states.
• Family Watchdog: The site uses colorful dots on a map to pinpoint the exact locations where registered sex offenders work or live in your area. It offers email alerts too.
• FBI: You might want to check this list of predators currently on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
• Vision 20/20: It's a nice mashup that uses Windows Live Maps and offers a free alert system. Chris Null wrote about the service on this post.
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: Offers tips and resources promoting child safety.
• Sexual Offenders.com: A great site with the latest news regarding sex offenders.

If offenders happen to live in your immediate area, write down their addresses, stay away from their house, and report any suspicious activity to the authorities. And if you're feeling generous, share your list with friends and neighbors.

Halloween Safety Kits and Other Tips

Now that you got a list of address you should avoid and seen the faces of some of these registered sex offenders, you should move on to your Halloween safety kit. Here are some tips:

• The day before you take the kids trick-or-treating, make sure you charge your mobile phone. You certainly don't want a dead phone on this day.
• It's always a good idea to program a few emergency phone numbers on your speed dial, so revisit your ICE list to make sure you still have a current phone number listed. If you haven't created an ICE (In Case of Emergency) entry, this should be a good time start one.
• Become familiar with any buddy tracking technology on your kids' phone, and use it on this day.
• Use LED candles instead of real candles inside pumpkins and other Halloween decorations to prevent any accidents. If you use candles, keep them away from doorsteps and landings where costumes could brush up against them.
• If you're not accompanying the kids, make sure you take plenty of digital photos of them with and without their costume. Give them a mobile phone for emergencies.
• Carry a flashlight with fresh batteries, especially if it's dark outside.
• Buy some fun flashing LED lights or glowsticks for the kids. They'll come in handy when they're crossing streets or when it's dark outside.

The ghouls really do come out at night, so be safe out there and do a little preparation so you have a fun Halloween night.

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