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Sex offenders get signs for Halloween
Filed under: Big Kids, Tweens, Teens, Activities: Babies, Holidays, Health & Safety: Babies, In The News
One year on Halloween, we ran out of candy well before the trick-or-treaters were finished for the night. In an attempt to dissuade them from knocking on our door, we turned the porch light off. When that failed to stop them, we put a sign on the door reading "sorry, no more candy". That didn't work, either. Based on that experience, I am somewhat doubtful that Maryland's plan to keep children away from sex offenders on Halloween will be successful.
Maryland's Division of Parole and Probation has mailed letters and signs to sex offenders. The signs feature a pumpkin and the words "No Candy at This Residence". The accompanying letter reads, in part, "Halloween provides a rare opportunity for you to demonstrate to your neighbors that you are making a sincere effort to change the direction of your life." It goes on to instruct the recipients to post the sign, stay indoors, turn off their porch lights and refrain from answering the door on Halloween.
I think any effort to keep sex offenders and children away from each other is worth a try. But I can tell you that I already know where the registered sex offenders in my area live. I checked my state's online registry before we made an offer on our house and will check back periodically to see if there are any changes. Do you keep up with your state's sex offender registry?
Maryland's Division of Parole and Probation has mailed letters and signs to sex offenders. The signs feature a pumpkin and the words "No Candy at This Residence". The accompanying letter reads, in part, "Halloween provides a rare opportunity for you to demonstrate to your neighbors that you are making a sincere effort to change the direction of your life." It goes on to instruct the recipients to post the sign, stay indoors, turn off their porch lights and refrain from answering the door on Halloween.
I think any effort to keep sex offenders and children away from each other is worth a try. But I can tell you that I already know where the registered sex offenders in my area live. I checked my state's online registry before we made an offer on our house and will check back periodically to see if there are any changes. Do you keep up with your state's sex offender registry?
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 5)
10-21-2008 @ 2:02AM
elanna said...We have a No Candy Sign on our door each year. Why? We don't celebrate Halloween and go out that night.
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10-21-2008 @ 5:15AM
Eleanor Peters said...Sex ofenders cannot be rehibilated. I do not care how many rehabs you put them in, there is some thing in their phychic that says there is some thing wrong. I say put them all in an Asysum and give them all an lobotomy unless they have killed some one, then give them the death sentence. We must protect our children at all costs. No child should have to be put through that horror. If this continues then I blame society for neglect in takinng care of our children. period.
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10-25-2008 @ 3:09PM
DD said...TO SUNNY, yes, a child is taken EVERY 40 seconds, and the scary part some in the middle of the night ( which means they have been stalked) non-parental abduction kidnapped children are usually murdered within the 1st 3 hrs.
OMG that man just said that achild has a better chanc a being injured by a drunk driver?
LOOK AT ME MY DAUGHTER ANFD THE STATISTICS YOU OLD FOOL
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10-21-2008 @ 7:20AM
Sabrina said...I commented on this on another blog. I keep up with the sex offender database for my state, and that's part of my job as a parent. I appreciate the fact that these people are registered and I can therefore avoid sending my kids to their houses for trick-or-treating. I'm not so sure about the signs. I understand their functions, but I think it might infringe on the right to privacy that these people (offenders) still have. Yes, they should be barred from participating in anything involving children if their crime was against children. And if they're still on parole, it's likely a part of their parole. In which case they should be being advised and closely monitored by their parole officers. I do not think, however, that they should be subject to being singled out. The singling out of these people, if they're just living in a neighborhood not doing anything wrong, can lead to unnecessary violence. I don't believe true sexual offenders can be rehabilitated, but I also don't believe they have no rights to privacy as long as they are following the terms of their release. It's just asking for more trouble to put up signs like this.
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10-21-2008 @ 8:15PM
moby said...PARANOIA!
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10-25-2008 @ 6:08AM
LAWYER said...I THINK ITS FUNNY THAT YOU HAVE THIS INFORMATION BUT HAVE NOT RESEARCHED ANY INFORMATION ON WHAT MAKES A PERSON LABLED A SEX OFFENDER.IF YOU HAVE A SON YOU BETTER WORRY MORE ABOUT HIM HAVING SEX WITH A GIRL UNDERAGE THEN BEING ATTACKED BY A SEX OFFENDER.BECAUSE THEN HE WILL BECOME THE SEX OFFENDER YOU ARE RALLING AGAINST.GET YOUR FACTS BEFORE YOU JUDGE.
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10-25-2008 @ 5:23PM
Toni said...Anything that may keep our children away from sex offenders is worth using. These signs may not deter all children from approaching the homes of registered sex offenders but they will stop some. Children shouldn't be out trick or treating alone anyway, no matter what their ages are so if parents take their children out and look for these signs the children will be kept away from these homes. It's a shame that these sex offenders are even allowed to be free and live in our society. Laws should be changed so that sex offenders that prey on innocent, vulnerable children are put away for life. We have non-violent criminals spending 20,30 to life in prison but yet we allow pedophiles to walk our streets, live next to our children after serving only a few moths, or years and sometimes no time at all. Our criminal justice system is a joke!
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10-28-2008 @ 12:42AM
Notstupid said...Do any of you dipsticks know exactly how many children have ever been abducted, molested, or murdered on Halloween by a sex offender?
0. Zip. Zero. Nada dang one.
Not one.
As far as your 'belief' in rehabilitation or not - it's not up to YOUR opinion. You have nothing to base that belief on except your decision to believe something untrue.
Homosexual molesters ARE considered 'uncurable' and have a high reoffense rate. They are, fortunately, the fewest type. Incestuous molesters RARELY go outside family boundaries. 94% of molesters are family members or close aquaintances. The reoffense rate is lowest of any crime. L O W E S T.
There are tree pee-ers, underaged consentual, mooners, juveniles, and FALSELY ACCUSED persons on those lists, as well as children as young as 11.
The conviction rate for this particular crime is the H I G H E S T of any crime. The 'reasonable doubt' standard lowest. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure there's a bit of injustice going on with this business.
But please. Don't take my word for it. Do some intelligent research and learn the truth for yourself. Otherwise - you sound just plain stupid.
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