MARQUETTE, Michigan – While people may think they know their neighbours, law enforcement officials are urging extra caution this Halloween.
They are reminding parents to check their neighbourhoods for sex offenders. The Michigan State Police has a website that shows every offender in the area.
“The MSP maintains the sex offender registry for the entire state of Michigan. We update that constantly and all of our posts will accept anybody that’s on that registry to come in and update their address, update their information that they may need to that’s required by law,” MSP 8th District Public Information Officer Lt. Mark Giannunzio said.
Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt says sex offenders are allowed to participate in Halloween festivities.
“Sex offenders are allowed to pass out candy, unless they’re on probation or parole, and that limits their ability to have contact with children or be within a certain distance of schools and things like that. So in general, if they’re not on probation or parole, they can give out candy,” Zyburt said.
Giannunzio says the public website has important information.
“This public sex offender registry is going to give everybody out there in the general public access to see where people live, sex offenders that are on this registry, that is, where they live, so people can make informed decisions,” Giannunzio said.
Zyburt says there are 182 sex offenders in Marquette County. He says deputies keep a close eye on those homes.
“Police officers in different communities usually know when there’s a problem subject in their area and they keep an eye on that particular residence,” Zyburt said.
Both Zyburt and Giannunzio urge people to check the registry regularly and to contact law enforcement if they notice anything suspicious in the neighbourhood.