What Can or Can’t You Do on Halloween?
Some of you may not care about Halloween, but many of us have children who want to take part in the holiday and have a normal childhood.
Carving a pumpkin, decorating the house, and going trick-or-treating with friends are part of growing up, and our kids shouldn’t have to miss out because of a parent’s registration status.
Many have asked what the rules are with respect to Halloween. For registrants, often the best practice is to lay low and pray for the day to pass quickly. If there’s no curfew as a condition of probation or Halloween ordinance, get out of the house, go to a movie, go out for a drink (or a few – just don’t drive) and come home when everything is done. But for registrants with children, sometimes that’s not a possibility.
There is no blanket statewide Halloween law for every registrant. Many of the state restrictions apply only to people currently on supervised probation, but many counties and cities have added their own requirements that apply to everyone on the registry. For people on supervision, the Florida Department of Corrections rules are generally: no candy or treats, porch lights off and blinds closed, no outside decorations, no answering the door to trick-or-treaters, no costumes or masks, and no Halloween parties where children are present. Check with your PO to confirm what applies to you.
County or city ordinances Vary from one place to the next. They are present mostly in Northeast Florida – not common in Southeast Florida. Some ordinances that were once enforced (such as Jacksonville’s “No candy” sign requirement), have been eliminated after court challenges (ex: Younce v. City of Jacksonville, McClendon v. Long (11th Cir. 2022)). That said, while the sign requirement was eliminated, in Jacksonville registrants must avoid all Halloween-related contact with children, turn off exterior lights after 5 p.m., and display no Halloween decorations. St. Johns County requires registrants, from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on October 31, to avoid all Halloween-related contact with children and to have no Halloween displays visible from their residence, vehicle, vessel, or property. All residential lighting must also be off after 5 p.m. To check your County AND City (you will need to check both), go to Municode (https://library.municode.com/fl) and search the keyword “sexual offender”.
Also, be mindful that compliance checks on or around Halloween are rampant. As you can see from this video, in Clay County they are visiting EVERYONE on the registry:
[FAC NOTE: The officer in this video was professional and polite to the registrants. Don’t expect “Officer Friendly” to knock on your door when they are not being filmed by a news crew.]
So how does this affect everyone else in your household? Can you supervise your children when they trick-or-treat or do they need to go out on their own? Can your spouse hand out candy? What if you leave the house to let your family enjoy the holiday while you are 50 miles away?
The short answer is unfortunate. If an ordinance (or supervision condition) applies to you, it applies to your family. If you can’t decorate the home or hand out candy, they can’t decorate the home or hand out candy from your residence. We’ve found nothing preventing family members from leaving the residence to go trick-or-treat or attend a holiday party (so long as your spouse or children are not on the registry).
And an important final thought: PROTECT YOURSELF! Every year around this time, news stations across Florida remind the public to search the sexual offender registry before trick-or-treating, and many map out registrant homes for viewers. However well-intended, this paints a target on our families’ backs. Harassment, vandalism, and false accusations go up this time of year, so plan ahead. Get a security camera. Ring, Blink, Nest, or any similar system will do (we have no stake in any of these companies). A camera protects you, your family, and your property, and it gives you proof. If someone claims you were handing out candy, talking to children, or doing anything else you weren’t, the footage can settle it. Make sure it covers your front door, yard, and driveway, and that recordings are saved to the cloud or another device so they can’t be lost. If someone shows up to harass you, egg your home, slash your tires, etc. stay inside, don’t confront them, record what you can, and call law enforcement. Let the camera and the police handle it.
With a little preparation, you can stay in compliance, protect your household, and this day will pass.
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As far as cameras go:
I have a SMALL body cam that I thought I might wear to protect myself and told my supervisor about it. She immediately spoke up and said, “DON’T DO THAT”. I said, “But it would protect me from false accusations”. She said, “Yes, and if there were any children on it, what-so-ever, just in passing, then that could be used against you in a court of law to ‘prove’ you might have been stalking children.” So, I have not worn it yet, but I still want to.
And, sometimes children come to the house selling school fund-raising candy. I don’t open the door, but they are still on my doorbell cam. According to her thinking, I suppose I could get charged for having recorded children on my doorbell cam.
So, what are ya’lls thoughts on having outside security cameras and doorbell cameras recording children as they pass the house or when they are playing in the street. Yes, my cameras record all the way out to the street because my street isn’t that far from my front door.
I have the sensitivity turned down, and my camera settings actually have a way to block the camera from recording certain areas. But, say, for the mailbox, I have that area unblocked just in case someone looks in my mailbox. So, that area next to the street isn’t blocked and a passing car, or a child on a bicycle, will start the recording (for 30 seconds).
Can THAT be used against me as recording children? I know this is a Florida page, and I live in Tennessee, but I’m thinking I can’t be the only one from Tennessee who reads these posts.
Have a blessed day, ya’ll.