The Crime Prevention Website

With Halloween happening this Friday and with this website’s audience being much bigger on a Monday than any other day of the week I thought it would be sensible to repeat some guidance I gave earlier from our friends in Hampshire Constabulary – witch you’ll find below (get it?)

A couple of years ago we bought a wonderful ‘Halloween’ serving dish in which to put the sweets we give out to children who come knocking.  When they put their hand in the dish to take a sweet their hand triggers a detector and this horrible skeleton hand emerges from the back of the dish to tickle the back of the child’s hand – great fun and very creepy and in some small way it’s nice to get even!! (there's still a child in me, obviously)

Now we don’t mind a few kids knocking on the door at this time of year, but there’s a house-full of us and so we’re a lot more confident about knocks on the door after dark than someone living alone who might be infirm or maybe frightened or upset by the repeated door knockings – and that’s fair enough.

So, here’s that information from Hampshire police again.....

Every year Hampshire Constabulary's force control room receives calls from people who have been frightened or disturbed by ‘trick or treaters’ in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Some advice for the elderly or vulnerable members of our community staying home this Halloween:

  • If you do not know who is calling at your house, you do not need to open the door
  • Try to see who is at the door by looking through a spy hole or window before opening the door
  • If you have a chain on your door - keep this in place when opening the door
  • If you feel threatened in your home, please contact the police
  • If you do not want to be disturbed by trick or treaters this Halloween, download and print out a copy of the "No Trick Or Treat" poster to display by your front door.
  • Police advice to children and their parents is to be mindful that some of the more vulnerable or elderly members of the community do not wish to participate in Halloween activities and in fact may feel intimidated by groups of people calling at their doors.
  • Local shops are also displaying posters, reminding shoppers that eggs or flour will not be sold to under-16s in the days leading up to October 31.

The "No Eggs or Flour" poster can also be found here

Hampshire Constabulary has prepared some advice for children and their parents:

  • If your child is going outside in a costume - make sure they are wearing reflective clothing or add reflective tape to their clothes.
  • Carry a torch and consider road safety at all times.
  • If your child is going out trick or treating - make sure they go out in a group, preferably accompanied by an adult.
  • Older children should let you know where they are going and what time they will be back.
  • Children should carry a mobile phone in a pocket or bag.
  • Make sure your children know not to enter anyone's house or to accept lifts from strangers.

TCPW Comment: Although these posters are useful for everybody, no matter where you live, your own police service might be publishing their own, so it may be worth paying a visit to their websites.  The links to all the police services can be found here on this website.

Have a very scary time, but keep safe and think of others.

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