Your Guide to Trick-or-Treating: Follow the APD's Safety Tips For a Happy Halloween

The Austin Police Department made several announcements on the precautions they’re taking to keep the Austin community safe this Halloween. Heading the list of citizens to keep safe are the children that will be searching for candy and treats across the city.

“The Austin Police Department encourages safety and supervision for children throughout the year, especially on Halloween,” according to a press release from the APD. “It is important for parents to follow a few safety precautions as children take to neighborhood streets for traditional trick-or-treating.”

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Those safety precautions range from making sure kids have a flashlight to never accepting rides from strangers. Other safety tips are:

• Know your trick-or-treater’s route
• Make sure fake knives, swords, and guns are made from cardboard or other flexible materials to avoid accidental injury or worse - having them mistaken for the real thing
• Don’t cut across yards. Use sidewalks and stay out of backyards
• Follow traffic signals and do not jaywalk or cross at midblock
• Always watch for cars backing up or turning
• Respect other people and their property
• Be polite and say “thank you”
• Be sure costumes, shoes, and treat bags are safe
• Remind children not to enter a stranger’s home or car
• Set rules about not eating treats until your children are home. Inspect all treats before allowing kids to eat them
• Candy that has been opened should be thrown away. Any homemade treats or fruit should be inspected closely
• Remember drivers have a hard time seeing people, especially at dusk
• Never cross the street from between parked cars
• Watch open flames from jack-o-lanterns as they present a fire hazard for costumes and long wigs. Review the “stop, drop and roll” procedure in case your costume catches on fire

• Only visit well-lit houses. Don’t stop at dark houses
• Don’t enter any homes unless you know the people
• Carry a spare Halloween bag -- in case it breaks or your original one is filled

There are police guidelines for homeowners planning to hand out candy to children as well.

• Turn on your porch light
• Move lit jack-o-lanterns off the porch where kids get bunched up when trick-or-treating in groups
• Remove objects from your yard that might present a hazard
• Drive slowly all evening. You never know what little “creature” may suddenly cross your path
• Report any suspicious or criminal activity to the police

To avoid going to unsafe homes in your neighborhood, check out our map of registered sex offenders in Downtown Austin.

Information in this article is courtesy of the Austin Police Department.

[Photo: Wikipedia]