JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Halloween is officially here, and the streets will be filled with trick-or-treaters across Jacksonville on Thursday night.
Local law enforcement will be on the lookout for sex offender compliance. For those on the registry, it’s against the law to get in on the festivities.
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“They can’t have lights on, they can’t have any decorations in their yard, and they can’t enjoy any Halloween festivities if you will, where there are children present,” Officer Christian Hancock with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
According to Hancock, there are around 2,500 registered sex offenders they’ll have officers actively keeping an eye on for Halloween night.
Additionally, according to the sex offender registry map on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s website, there are even a couple living just within a few blocks of each other in the Sans Pareil neighborhood, one right near a preschool.
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Hancock told Action News Jax it’s important parents know what homes their little ones need to skip come time to trick or treat.
“If you’re in the neighborhood, you wanna know where these individuals are, very easy to find out where they are,” Hancock urged. “And if they fail to let us know that they moved, then we put out a warrant, we take them to jail for that.”
Although Hancock did say that thankfully, it’s extremely rare they find offenders deciding to break the rules on Halloween night, you can still check where they live in your neighborhood by clicking the link found here.
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