NEW: Department of Corrections Warns Against Sex Offenders Tonight
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Rhode Island Department of Corrections’ Probation & Parole Unit is warning parents to take precautions against sex offenders when their children go trick-or-treating tonight.
As has been the case on previous Halloweens, random home visits will be conducted by Probation & Parole Officers in tandem with local law enforcement in many communities across the state to make sure sex offenders are home and staying out of trouble. Sex offenders living in area shelters have been given an earlier than usual Halloween night curfew. A few examples of what’s happening in specific communities are included below:
Kent County’s Regional Probation and Parole Office has imposed several rules for child molesters and offenders who were found in possession of child pornography. They must refrain from handing out candy, they must have their outside lights off, and they must be home or at a Probation-approved location by 6 p.m. on Halloween night. Probation and Parole Officers with sex offender-specific caseloads will conduct home visits along with members of the local police department between the hours of 4:30 and midnight.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn Providence, police have notified all sex offenders to be home by 5 p.m. on Halloween night. The police, along with Probation and Parole Officers, will check “as many sex offender residences that night as we can get to in order to ensure that they are in proper compliance for the kids,” notes Providence Police Detective Teddy Michael.
As of September 30, 2011, there were 25,852 offenders under the jurisdiction of Adult Probation & Parole in Rhode Island. Of those, 689 were on Probation sex offender specific caseloads and 38 (of whom 17 were on electronic monitoring parole) were on Parole sex offender/special needs caseloads.
