In the USA where there is no such thing as privacy laws, with the click on the mouse you can find out everything on anyone on the net. Who, what, where and why. But hey, as they say, it’s people, places and things that get people in trouble.
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?
ThinkingOutLOUD 