Halloween restrictions on sex offenders needs reworking, says group

Traffic more dangerous for kids on Halloween than any night of year

It’s Halloween. Little ghouls will be out in abundance. Some with adults. Some without. And thousands of adults in Wisconsin will be under close watch from local police.

Registered sex offenders are in virtual lockdown and subject to random searches tonight.

The state places special restrictions on registered offenders – No costumes, no trick or treaters. Don’t even turn the porch light on.

At least one group, the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL), says it’s time to rethink the Halloween lockdown.

“It is well past time for the efforts of public service information and for the focus of law enforcement to reflect this real and serious danger,” NARSOL Executive director Brenda Jones said in a statement. “And media outlets should stop pandering to unsupported fears with constant warnings about dangers that do not exist.

“State and local law enforcement agencies should focus most of their attention on traffic safety during Halloween evening. Officers should be placed onto the streets directing traffic in neighborhoods with a high volume of children and with sobriety check-points for drivers throughout the area.”

The group says the biggest danger on Halloween is drivers – kids are four times more likely to get hit and killed by drivers tonight than any other night of the year.

The organization urges police to focus on that real threat instead of, what they call, “sex offender hysteria.”