Create A Safe Route For Your Trick or Treaters

As your witches and goblins go door to door this Halloween, cavities and sugar highs aren't the only concerns. Sex offenders live all around us, and most times they are just the guy or girl next door.

Halloween -- the day to be anyone but yourself. Kids transform into angels and ghosts, bumble bees and pirates, but sex offenders don't need a costume to get close to your children. It's the one night a year children parade from door to door, knocking for candy even from strangers.

It's important to know where your children are trick or treating. You can plan a trick or treating route right from your computer. Familywatchdog.us will map out your area and tell you where sex offenders live.

Looking at a map of Idaho Falls, it looks like every neighborhood is home to at least one. Type in your address and a map of your area will pop up. The colored dots represent sex offenders. The red dots are child sex offenders, yellow dots are rapists and green represents all other offenses.

Click on the pin points for more information. All of the offenders information is on your screen -- What the offenders been convicted of, what he looks like and his or her exact address, so while parents worry about cavities and sugar highs, make sure to beware of other threats as well.

Last year drastic steps were taken by law enforcement and probation and parole in some states to keep children away from sex offenders on Halloween.

In New Jersey, sex offenders couldn't leave their homes, and they were prohibited from opening their door for trick-or-treaters. In some counties in New York, sex offenders went to a mandatory educational program Oct. 31.

For more information, visit http://www.familywatchdog.us/.

Story Created: Oct 27, 2006 at 4:16 PM MST

Story Updated: Oct 27, 2006 at 8:09 PM MST