Halloween Safety

Cop Corner Issue No. 19: Halloween Safety

written by: S/Sgt Luis Gandolfi Bonnyville RCMP Detachment

“Halloween wraps fear in innocence, as though it were a slightly sour sweet.  Let terror then be turned into a treat…” – Nicholas Gordon. 

For our children, I think we can all agree that Halloween is one of the greatest holidays of the year.  After suffering the depressive reality that school is back in session, and that summer is officially over, Halloween is a life saver for many parents.  After all, what could be more exciting than putting on your favourite super guy or gal outfit and prancing around with your friends collecting free candy from strangers?!  It’s a no brainer…but unfortunately some people take that “no brain” part quite literally.

Halloween is only a few weeks away and as always you can expect to see a few more of our members cruising around chatting with kids and parents.  So, if you see anyone running around with eggs or toilet paper please do give us a call.  Vandalism, although uncommon for the most part does sometimes happen.  As in years past the town will likely be implementing a curfew so please do stay tuned for those details.

We get great support from the Pontiacs during Halloween and that will be the case again this year.  For parents who aren’t quite sure if this is the year to let the kids roam around unattended, here are some tips to consider.  Obviously a cell phone or communication device would be a good idea as a starting point.  Also ensure your kids have a healthy number of friends committed to staying together during the evening.  Bright costumes are always better then a dark ones, face paints are always better then masks, and a planned route is always better than migrating down the side roads and back alleys.  I will tell you that in years past we HAVE had parents turn in suspicious candies for examination.  In one case a Starburst type candy was found to contain a pill that later turned out to be a benign prescription medication.

That being said, we all have allergies and in the age of Fentanyl and W18, better to be cautious than inattentive.  I’d strongly recommend having a look through all your kid’s items before turning them loose on their prize!  Should you happen to find something suspicious, don’t handle it excessively, move it into an open air space and give us a call, we’ll take if from there.  Having a short 5 minute discussion with your kids can make a world of difference and we certainly encourage that as it relates to Halloween.

Stay safe.

*Cop Corner is written & provided by S/Sgt Luis Gandolfi of the Bonnyville RCMP Detachment. It has not been altered from the author’s original content.