Central Texas police and adult probation are taking some extra steps to protect your kids from sex offenders this Halloween.
Sex offenders on probation and parole have Halloween restrictions they must follow or they could end up in jail.
In less than two weeks children will be roaming the streets trick-or-treating.
Texas is number seven in the nation for the largest number of sex offenders.
You would be surprised by the number of registered sex offenders that live in Central Texas neighborhoods.
To make sure your kids don't go knocking on the wrong doors, here are some things you need to keep in mind.
Sex offenders are not allowed to decorate the outside of their house, no answering the door to children, or passing out candy.
And they're also not allowed at Halloween parties where children will be.
If parents are worried about their kids going to the wrong house there are several websites you can go to.
It shows where registered sex offenders actually live, so you can avoid them.
For all the tech savvy parents, there are apps for your smart phone that do the same so you can track as you go.
"We're going to have sex offenders, they're going to come to the old police department and they'll be monitored during the time that the kids, the main time the kids, are going to be out. We'll also have some officers out randomly checking residents of registered sex offenders to make sure that they're home," said Temple Police Lieutenant Edward Best.
For registered sex offender lists, go to:
http://www.nsopw.gov/Core/Portal.aspx
and
http://www.familywatchdog.us/default.asp
For mobile apps that track sex offenders, check out:
Life360's Sex Offender Search
and
BeenVerified's Sex Offender Tracker.
