Websites map sex offenders ahead of Halloween
A reminder for trick-or-treaters and their parents.
In California, registered sex offenders are not allowed to hand out candy on Halloween. A state law, known as “Operation Boo”, allows officials to conduct nighttime checks on the evening of Halloween to make sure some registered sex offenders are insider their homes with the lights out.
Desert Hot Springs police want people to know about “Offender Watch”; it’s on the police department’s website at cityofdhs.org. There you can find the tab “Offender Watch.”
It’ll show you the city’s 106 registered sex offenders’ homes. There you can also sign up for email alerts to let you know if one moves in nearby. Police want parents and adult chaperones to look at this map when planning your trick or treat route in the city.
The Desert Hot Springs Police Department is the only agency that reached out to us with their own website, but you can check where other sex offenders live by going to the decades-old resource meganslaw.ca.gov. People can search using a zip code, address, map, and/or name of offender.
In most cases, Megan’s Law publishes the offender’s mugshot and offenses along with the address for sex offenders in your area.
Offenders by the numbers, as of October 26, 2015:
Desert Hot Springs: 106 Indio: 77 Palm Springs: 60 Cathedral City: 46 Palm Desert: 23 La Quinta: 18 Thousand Palms: 13 Rancho Mirage: 8 Bermuda Dunes: 7 Indian Wells: 0
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