Halloween trick-or-treating hours are scheduled from 4 pm to 7 pm on Friday, October 31st. To ensure a safe and happy Halloween, The Elgin Police Department offers the community these safety recommendations:
• Parents or another responsible adult should accompany young children.
• Children should be dressed in light-colored costumes.• Costumes should not limit mobility and have no visible obstructions.
• One member of a trick-or-treating group should carry a flashlight.• Trick-or-treaters should always walk on sidewalks and cross the street at intersections.
• Candy and goodies should be brought home and inspected by parents before being eaten.• Extra caution should be used when inspecting treats.
Residents can signal to children that they are welcome to collect treats at their homes by keeping porch and exterior lights on during Halloween hours. Citizens are also asked to serve only wrapped candy.
Because safety is of the utmost importance, the Elgin Police Department will be out in force. Residents are reminded to close and lock car and garage doors and motorists are asked to be especially observant of trick-or-treaters.
In addition to the previously listed tips, the Elgin Police Department would encourage residents to check out the Illinois State Police website for sex offenders that may be living in their area. The Elgin Police Department will also be conducting sex offender verification checks the week of Halloween to ensure all registered sex offenders are in compliance.
The Elgin Police Department will also be launching a new sex offender registration and public notification website called OffenderWatch. Elgin will now be part of a nationwide network of over 5,000 law enforcement agencies which includes over 110 Illinois agencies. This new service is a citizen-friendly, easy to use website that enables citizens to search for sex offenders which may be in close proximity to their homes, places of work, schools, churches and day care centers. The information is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and is updated in real time as offender information changes and is reported. Citizens can also register their address and will be sent an email alerting them if an offender should register an address within their specified radius of their address. Citizens may confidentially register as many addresses as they like, at no cost to them. Citizens can access the OffenderWatch registry at www.cityofelgin.org/offenderwatch .
The Elgin Police Department wishes everyone a safe and happy Halloween.