SAN ANTONIO — For kids, Halloween is all about the candy. They'll go house to house, trick-or-treating for hours. But if you're a parent you may ask yourself who really is behind that door?
Shannon Jones supervises the Sex Offender Management Program within the Adult Probation Department for Bexar County. She said there are more than 4,000 registered sex offenders who live here.
On Halloween night, high-risk offenders are brought in by the department. Jones said this makes it easier to keep an eye on them. "We've been doing this for the last 10 years," she said. "We basically do a seminar-type gathering during trick-or-treating hours, so 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m."
Jones said about 250 people will show up tonight. Others who are low-risk will receive home visits from field teams.
Some police departments, like the one in Leon Valley, do the same thing during this time of the year. Officers will stop by each sex offender's home and remind them that handing out candy isn't an option. They can't have decorations up and their lights should be out.
Jones said not all registered sex offenders have to report in or receive a home visit.
"We are doing this for defendants who are on community supervision or probation," Jones said. "Not all of them are on supervision, so some of them don't have rules that apply."
But don't expect a sign in their front yard telling you to "stay away." Jones said that's on you to figure out.
She suggests checking out the Texas Public Sex Offender Website before you go out. You can put in your address and see who lives nearby. From there, you can plan out the safest route for trick-or-treating.
"It's always best to be a proactive parent," she said. "I would always tell parents to find out who's in their neighborhood."
ARE YOU READY FOR HALLOWEEN?