EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Halloween is here and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is urging families to take extra precautions by checking the Texas Sex Offender Registry, in addition to using the OffenderWatch® Family Safety App to ensure safe trick-or-treating routes.
There are approximately 2,100 registered sex offenders in El Paso County and the City of El Paso. The Sheriff’s Office provides an interactive map on their website to help parents identify homes to avoid and offers free email alerts about offenders moving into their neighborhoods.
The Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender Registration & Tracking (SORT) team actively monitors registered sex offenders by visiting their residences weeks before Halloween to ensure compliance with legal restrictions.
“We go out to these sex offenders’ residences to make sure they’re complying with the law,” said Sheriff Oscar Ugarte. “We make sure they’re not giving out candy, we make sure there’s no Halloween decorations at their home, and even the night of Halloween, our unit goes back out there and double checks to make sure these sex offenders are complying. If we do find a sex offender in violation, we arrest them.”
Families planning to celebrate Halloween in different neighborhoods are advised to research those areas in advance to identify which homes to avoid.
Important Resources for Parents:
- El Paso County Sheriff’s Office OffenderWatch® Sex Offender Mapping and Email Alert Program
- Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (nsopw.gov)
- Texas Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Registry
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