Sex Offenders Warned Not To Answer The Door
by Tikeyah Whittle | Oct 31, 2012 11:40am
(2) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Town News, Hartford
If sex offenders partake in trick-or-treating festivities, they can end up in prison, according to a press release issued by the Department of Correction.
The department, in an effort to keep minors safe on Halloween, instructs offenders to keep their porch lights off during the night so they won’t attract children on their quest for candy. If a trick-or-treater happens to knock on an offender’s door, they must not answer.
Department of Correction Commissioner Leo C. Arnone says the department has clearly told offenders “what is expected of them on this night and throughout the year.”
But just in case offenders aren’t clear, parole officers from the Special Management Unit will be surveying neighborhoods statewide to ensure that the offenders are in compliance with rules set out by the department. The unit also conduct unannounced home visits on offenders throughout the state, according to the release.
The Special Management Unit oversees about 100 sex offenders who are in the community and are on parole or special parole, the statement says.
If a sex offender doesn’t abide by these rules, he or she will be “immediately remanded to prison,” the press release made clear.
There are currently 639 sex offenders in Hartford alone, according to the Connecticut sex offender registry.
(2) Comments
posted by: ShanaRowan | November 1, 2012 8:43am
Sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rate of all criminals except murderers, according to dozens of university, federal and state studies. Not all sex offenders have victimized children, and over 1/3 of sex crimes perpetrated against children are committed by other children. 95% of kids are abused by family or friends who aren’t on the registry. Dr. Jill Levenson’s 2009 study, “How Safe are Trick-or-Treaters: Child Sex Crime Rates on Halloween?” found that non-familial child sexual abuse accounted for less than .2% on Halloween. Why is law enforcement spreading such glaring myths, and why is the media latching on??
posted by: drshrinkrapt | November 6, 2012 8:11am
Thanks for ShanaRowan’s very accurate and level headed comments. She is correct in citing the Levenson research and spot on about the shameful myths and misunderstandings about the potential dangers that “sex offenders”—a very mixed group—pose to society. This fear mongering and ceaseless punishment of this class of persons, many who have committed non-contact offenses but are still classed as sex offenders, needs to stop.