Maryland Has A Good Idea
Elizabeth Bartholomew, the spokeswoman for the Division of Parole and Probation has announced that for the second Halloween in a row, registered sex offenders who reside in Maryland must put signs up at their home that say “No Candy At This Residence.”
Considering the number of children that are out and about in the darkness on Halloween, this is a particularly good idea.
To maintain a certain level of quality for the signs, the authorities print the signs out themselves and hand-deliver them to the sexual offenders with instructions on when and how to post them.
Last Halloween, all the sexual offenders who were checked up on complied with the directive, which, if they’d ignored, would have been considered a violation of their parole.
There are more than 200 registered sexual offenders in the Baltimore area alone who are forbidden contact with children.
Registered sexual offenders are instructed not only to post the signs, but also to stay home from 6 in the evening on Halloween night until daylight the next morning. They also must keep their lights off and are not allowed to answer their doors unless law enforcement is present.
Offenders who are uncomfortable with posting the signs are allowed to arrange for alternate accommodations on Halloween night as long as the accommodations are cleared and verified with their parole or probation officers.
Maryland is not the only state that restricts sexual offenders’ movements on Halloween. Texas, Virginia, New Jersey and Illinois all ban registered sexual offenders from handing candy out on Halloween, or going to parties where children are present, or being on the streets.
7 Comments »
KOOL! Every state should have this law.
This is a great law. What would be even better; however, is for this to be a year round requirement. The sign could read, “Children not permitted.” Everyone would know what it really meant, but the point is, why protect children on one day of the year?
That’s exactly what I was thinking while I was reading this. I think this is an excellent idea and ALL sex offenders and pedophiles should have these signs on their doors to protect children who deliver papers and/or sell school candy etc.
It’s always nice to have the opportunity to educate the uninformed.
Read the Human Rights Watch report, No Easy Answers–and pass it along.
http://hrw.org/reports/2007/us0907/
We need better answers.
Be part of the solution.
I certainly enjoyed Sunny’s post, but I feel that Sunny is also utilizing the same scare tactic that she’s claiming “the politicians” are using.
The law allows sexual offenders to relocate themselves on Halloween. It also allows sexual offenders to request the ability to not post a sign on their property, providing they have a good reason to do so. “Suzie and Joey” will undoubtedly have a good time on Halloween, because there are allowances made in the law to address those issues.
If a sexual offender has his children living on the premises, hopefully he will be upfront and honest with “Suzie and Joey” and explain to them that his predilection towards predation is wrong, and not try to make excuses about why he did what he did.
The trick isn’t to eliminate sexual offender registration. The trick is to get the right people registered and enable the registrations to provide some good to the community.
Regarding the statistic that sexual offenders are usually someone the victim knows, I’d agree with that completely. The sexual offenders and the pedophiles know that it is much easier to get what they want when the parents think they’re harmless.
Are registries misused? Yes, absolutely. Are they necessary? Yes, absolutely. Any tool that informs potential victims of risks in their surroundings has my vote.
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“People want a silver bullet that will protect their children, [but] there is no silver bullet. There is no simple cure to the very complex problem of sexual violence.”
Are you fucking kidding me? A bullet in the brainpan or the Dp for every child molester solves all of this.
i cannot believe HRW would sit there and defend the rights of pedos on halloween…
I have 9 of these sick fucks within 2 miles of my house….of which there are also 6 schools within the same distance. I do NOT allow my children to play in the front yard at all, and only in my backyard, which is surrounded by a 10 foot fence. I should not have to live with the worry that some sick fuck is gonna snatch my child and get some. Fuck each and everyone of them….they have all proved that they do not deserve to draw the same air as my children.