MPD Offer Safety Tips for Trick-or-Treaters

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The Montgomery Police Department encourages families to enjoy the Halloween tradition safely and offers the following tips for trick-or-treaters:

•  -This year Halloween falls on a Monday, Oct. 31. The Montgomery Police Department will increase patrols in neighborhoods from 6 until 8 p.m. Halloween night and recommends that house-to- house trick or treating be conducted only during these hours.

•  -Avoid any “creepy clown” images or costumes in the wake of online threats that have spread fear unnecessarily in communities throughout the U.S. Be mindful that any individual who causes public fear through such online threats or choice of costumes may be subject to arrest.

•  -If it is your family’s intent to participate in door-to-door trick or treating instead of an organized event, please accompany your children and take them only to well-lit houses of neighbors that you know and trust. Carry flashlights or glow sticks.

•  -All items that children receive while trick or treating should be inspected closely by an adult prior to allowing children to handle or consume them.

•  -Parents should make sure that their children’s costumes do not obscure vision, make it difficult to walk, or present other safety hazards.

•  -Consider adding reflective tape to your children’s costumes to make it easier for motorists to see them.
•  -Children should be advised to obey all traffic rules and make sure they understand to look both ways before crossing the street.

•  -Advise children to notify a trusted adult immediately if anything happens that makes them uncomfortable or afraid.

•  -It is safest to use a flashlight or battery-operated candle in a jack-o- lantern. If you use a real candle, use extreme caution. Make sure children are watched at all times when candles are lit. When lighting candles inside jack-o- lanterns, use long, fireplace-style matches or a utility lighter. Be sure to place lit pumpkins well away from anything that can burn and far enough out of the way of trick-or- treaters, doorsteps and walkways.