TRICK OR RETREAT: Why doesn’t Utah have sex offender laws for Halloween?
ABC4 News asked multiple police agencies in Utah how often they see registered sex offenders creating problems on Halloween. Both the West Jordan Police Department and Unified Police department said they do not get reports of this happening often but said it’s very likely to be underreported.
OH COME ON!!!
Anything to justify a restriction. Why bother to let facts get in the way?
In promoting more laws, ABC4 does not even bother to obtain a quote from even ONE of the households that would be targeted.
Even when the reporter admitted that there were 60 sex offenders within a two-mile radius of where she was standing, she did not attempt to get an interview with any of them.
Jacob
Maybe she knows that 99% of us would not open our door to a reporter. I made that mistake just once and my comments were twisted around so badly that I went from being a compliant registrant, to a wanted fugitive on steroids. They can stay the Hell off of our property.
Guess there is some progress, if you look for it.
The KSAT news website published an article [about a week ago, I complimented them in writing on not publishing any BS nonsense about Halloween] The article headlines read something about SO and Halloween.
However, on reading the article, the gist was that there are no increased dangers to kids on Halloween and that San Antonio folks on the registry are not particularly known to offend on Halloween.
Guess KSAT could not help themselves, but at least they acknowledged that there are dangers to kids on Halloween, but that being assaulted on Halloween is not one of them.
Other signs of progress in my area are that the local sheriff no longer has registrants come to the sheriff’s office and sit there until 10-11pm on the night of Halloween.
Jesse
So if you had other plans like going to an office party or dinner with your wife, you would instead have to go to the sheriff’s department? That sounds as crazy as when there are hurricanes in Florida, one county (Can’t remember which one) stated registrants had to report to the jail even if not on probation instead of going to a shelter. I would rather die in a hurricane at home than ever step foot in a jail again.
Volusia County said that to me. The policy may have changed, but no one was very knowledgeable on the subject.
What is funny is, I have not seen any restrictions on placing Christmas decorations on our homes. Since Christmas is considered by many (Including myself) a religious holiday, this, if ever restricted would be a rights violation I believe.
But why is it different than hanging Halloween decorations? Although I do not celebrate Halloween, everyone should be able to celebrate holidays as they please. What if your religion was Wicca? Would that not violate that person’s rights to worship as they please?
I’m in Duval County and this is a question I’ve had for years. Hiw is this ordinance NOT a direct violation of the First ammendment regardlung religious expression I do believe that the challenge filed here about the Halloween signs touched on this, but personally I don’t think it was mentioned enough. I just hope the ruling goes in our favor.
Duval restricts holiday decorations. The restriction is under challenge.
Jacob
While they are at it, we should also be banned from attending church. Oh wait, some on here have already reported being asked to not return due to other attenders feeling “uncomfortable”.
Why are they uncomfortable you ask? Well you can thank the registry scheme for that bit of discrimination. What you do to the least of these, you have done it unto me also.
Under reported? You mean just like the certain percentage of women who do not report rape?
Thankfully where I live in Michigan, the police have NEVER required signs on Halloween, nor have they done any compliance checks in the 4 years I’ve lived at my current residence. Sometimes I kind of wish they would show up at my door with one of their ignorant signs so I could cause the biggest scene they have ever witnessed.
On the other hand. If a cop has proof that it’s under reported but he. Is hiding evidence, than doesn’t that make him an accessory to a crime. So where are the charges against these police?
I emailed the following to both news anchors at abc4 Utah:
Hello:
I recently watched your report on Halloween and Sex Offenders on ABC4 by Jilian Smukler with great interest.
It is very sad that a man chose to expose himself to a child last Halloween. Incidentally, Ms. Smukler did not mention whether or not that person was already a registered sex offender or not.
In order to combat child sexual abuse, we must use effective strategies, and we must be careful not to waste thin resources! Children are more than 4 times more likely to be struck by a car during Halloween than during the rest of the year.
Here is a statement from The Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse – an international, multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to making society safer by preventing sexual abuse. (It can be found here: https://www.atsa.com/policy/ATSAHalloween2019.pdf)
A s s o c i a t i o n f o r t h e T r e a t m e n t o f S e x u a l A b u s e r s 4900 SW Griffith Drive, Suite 274, Beaverton, Oregon 97005 USA Phone: 503.643.1023 | Fax: 503.643.5084 | atsa@atsa.com | http://www.atsa.com Halloween and sexual abuse prevention:
The mythical “Halloween effect” From the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
October 1, 2019 As October arrives and families begin preparing for Halloween, it is always a priority to ensure children’s safety during this holiday. It is important to learn the facts and know the risks to your child during this festive time. A heightened risk of being sexually abused is NOT one of the dangers children face at Halloween. The simple fact is that there are no significant increases in sexual crimes on or around Halloween. There is no “Halloween effect.” There is no change in the rate of sexual crimes by non-family members during Halloween. That was true both before and after communities enacted laws to restrict the activities of registrants during Halloween. The crimes that do increase around Halloween are vandalism and property destruction, as well as theft, assault, and burglary. In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control, children are four times more likely to be killed by a pedestrian/motor-vehicle accident on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Fully 93% of sexual assaults on children are perpetrated by someone known to, and trusted by, the child and the child’s family. But due to the myths regarding child sexual abuse that focus on “stranger danger,” communities and lawmakers often endorse policies that do little to prevent sexual abuse and instead unnecessarily stretch limited law enforcement resources. Jurisdictions that ban individuals on sex offender registries from participating in any Halloween activities, require registrants to post signs in their yards during Halloween, or round up registrants for the duration of trick-or-treating do not make children safer. Instead, these approaches create a false sense of safety while using law enforcement resources that could be better spent protecting children against the higher risk they do face during Halloween – injury or death from motor vehicles. Child sexual abuse is a serious public health issue that faces all communities. Although the prevalence of child sexual abuse can be difficult to determine due to under-reporting, researchers estimate that one in four girls and one in six boys will be victims of sexual abuse before age 18. For concerned parents, the best way to protect children from sexual abuse is to know the facts about sexual offending and take precautions based on facts, not fears. Parents can visit http://www.atsa.com to learn more about sexual abuse and prevention.
Here also is the abstract from a research study published by the National Institutes of Health: (It can be found here https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19581428/)
Abstract
States, municipalities, and parole departments have adopted policies banning known sex offenders from Halloween activities, based on the worry that there is unusual risk on these days. The existence of this risk has not been empirically established. National Incident-Base Reporting System crime report data from 1997 through 2005 were used to examine daily population adjusted rates from 67,045 nonfamilial sex crimes against children aged 12 years and less. Halloween rates were compared with expectations based on time, seasonality, and weekday periodicity. Rates did not differ from expectation, no increased rate on or just before Halloween was found, and Halloween incidents did not evidence unusual case characteristics. Findings were invariant across years, both prior to and after these policies became popular. These findings raise questions about the wisdom of diverting law enforcement resources to attend to a problem that does not appear to exist.
We must use scarce resources wisely – not on an urban myth or an isolated incident.
Thank you for reviewing this vital information.
Meanwhile in Nassau County [FL] …….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_wg7Vql4Mk
This should be on FAC’s list to challenge, IMHO
JZ, This will be the next to get sued. Please send us any other counties.
Aside from the “notification” ordinance, they also have onerous residency, proximity, and holiday ordinances. Looks like probation to me:
https://library.municode.com/fl/nassau_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COLAOR_CH19_1-4OF_ARTIISEOFSEPR
WAIT a doggone minute. That is a citizen funded DOT professional sign. Those signs are taxed to the citizens at around $1,200 each + labor cost to install. (I know this because I had a sign replaced in our neighborhood that got hit by a car) This is the Golden calf of Punitive. If that is not compelled speech, then nothing is.
Might as well Tatoo the state statue # on the guy’s forehead while they are at it. I remember about 20 years ago when they were forcing some registered as a predator to have bumper stickers on their vehicle stating they were an offender. That got nixed real quick.
If this is upheld as legal, who knows what other insane harassment some would have to endure. I spoke before about when I am not home when they do a compliance check, I get a sign hung on my door stating that I am a SEX OFFENDER. I always keep them as evidence for any court appearances.
Oh yeah, and read some of the comments people have left on the video. One guy says he wants one of those signs to keep kids away from his house? This is NOT a joke people. I guess it is funny until it happens to you AND whoever lives with you.