AR: What Do You Think People Are Going to Do With This List?
It’s that time of year again. Halloween is approaching, and the Izard County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas has done something very irresponsible. They published a list of addresses where registered citizens live.
They say it’s to warn parents not to trick or treat at those addresses, but realistically, what exactly do they think people are going to do with this list? And what do you think is going to happen to the people or property at those addresses?
We all know what happens when you publish a list of people’s homes and tell the public there’s a registrant living there. Maybe some people will take a different route. But others will decide to harass the residents, threaten their families, vandalize their property, or make sure the neighbors know exactly who lives there. The people living at those addresses may have children and grandchildren of their own who will now bear the consequences.
If someone is subject to a legal restriction prohibiting Halloween activities involving children, that restriction should be enforced. But publishing a list of addresses is inviting vigilantism.
We all want children to have a safe Halloween. That’s not in dispute. The question is whether these public shaming campaigns accomplish that goal, or whether they simply create another opportunity to stigmatize, intimidate, and punish entire families without demonstrating that doing so prevents a single offense.
Before publishing an article containing a hit list like this one: https://ozarkradionews.com/arkansas-news/izard-county-sheriffs-office-issues-do-not-trick-or-treat-list, perhaps law enforcement and the media should consider the reality of what the public will likely do with this information. How does that make anyone safer?
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And if some of those registrants sat on their front porch to protect there property (Not to hand out candy) if law enforcement came by, they would think they were disobeying the rules and possible make an arrest. Another catch 22 and a no way to win situation.
I haven’t had a tricker treater on my street for 18 years. I do not give out candy anyway, but I am allowed to. The only time I ever got told that I couldn’t was when I was on probation and I told the probation officer “Duh”. She laughed.
Most of these addresses are literally out in the middle of nowhere. There will be no trick or treating out there anyway
Jack Jaded
My personal opinion, have house parties with kids on the block (Not registrants), it would be much safer. Most of the danger for trick or treaters is getting hit by a car, not being kidnapped. I have only heard of a few kidnapped kids on Halloween in my entire 61 years of life for the entire nation. The scare tactics are just that. Now bullies (Older kids) used to try and take our candy away when I was a kid.
This is a list of their Tier 3 & 4 level PFRs, not all of them. So, the county is highlighting those they feel are worst of the PFRs and should be avoided by minors (in their mind) while encouraging the PFRs to not participate in Halloween activities. It doesn’t say they can’t, but encourages them to not. It is magnification of their already published PFR registry of specific folks, sadly.
And, yes, @FAC, you are spot on with you point, drawing attention on the behalf of alleged safety where in the end could create more problems than not if they hadn’t published it to start.
Once again, an office in a position of trust creating fear out of no reason if there is no substance to start with.
To be fair to this Sheriff- In Arkansas, a sex offender’s risk level is determined through a formalized, comprehensive evaluation process overseen by the Sex Offender Assessment Committee (SOAC). Rather than relying solely on the original conviction or crime category, Arkansas law requires an individualized, multi-factor risk assessment to estimate the likelihood that an individual will reoffend. Also level 4 have requires a formal court hearing where a judge evaluates the psychological evidence and determines if the offender suffers from a separate “mental abnormality” or personality disorder that makes them highly prone to predatory sexual violence.
While I don’t support registration in general this kinda seem fair in comparison to Florida and others. I mean isn’t INDIVIDUAL assessment what we are fighting for in many states?
Cruelty is the point. Chaos is the point. Political posturing is the point.
There’s no shortage of simple minded government officials who try to gain notoriety and political capital with this kind of foolish grandstanding. It’s past time to start holding them legally and financially liable for the results of these mandates. Semper Fi