SPD Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady
As Halloween approaches, the Starkville Police Department recommends trick or treaters and motorists follow a few safety tips Wednesday night.
SPD Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady recommends people in the Starkville community keep the hours that the Starkville Board of Aldermen approved for trick-or-treating from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“We recommend that you follow the city’s hours for trick-or-treating and don’t knock on individuals’ doors at inappropriate times,” Lovelady said.
Before the night begins though, Lovelady said parents may want to be aware of safety precautions that can be taken. In terms of costumes, it’s important materials are safe and some aspect of the costume is highly visible to motorists.
“Some things to think of before your children go out that night, make sure the costumes are made with safe materials and the paint you’re using on skin is safe to use,” Lovelady said.
“If your children’s clothing isn’t reflective, make sure their bag is reflective,” Lovelady added. “ Or tie a glow stick on the costume, make sure they carry a flashlight, put some reflective tape on them or anything you have that will make them highly visible.”
Lovelady also recommends parents sit down with their children and teenagers to set guidelines for trick-or-treating.
“We recommend sitting down with your young ones before they go out and have a talk with them about safety and about making good decisions,” Lovelady said.
“Make sure you set guidelines with your older children who will be off by themselves,” Lovelady added. “What time you expect them to be back, where they’re going, remind them to stay in familiar, well-lit areas— just basically reiterate safety tips before they go and personal expectations you have for them.”
Lovelady recommends the following safety tips for trick or treaters:
• Stay in familiar, well-lit areas
• Never trick or treat alone— use the ‘buddy system’ and stay with a group of people
• Pay attention where you’re walking, e.g. don’t look at your phone while you walk
• Especially use caution when you’re walking on the street
• Use crosswalks when available, otherwise, look both ways before you cross the street
Lovelady also recommends parents check candy before their children eat it.
“You may want to hold off on your children eating candy until you get home so you have a chance to look through it,” Lovelady said. “Check the candy and treats for tampering before your children eat them and also check candy for choking hazards for smaller kids.”
Lovelady recommends the following safety tips for motorists on Wednesday night:
• Drive slowly
• Stay alert
• Anticipate high pedestrian traffic
• Turn on your headlights earlier than you usually might
• Eliminate distractions inside your car so you can concentrate
• If you need to look at your phone or adjust the radio, pull over
“Just pay attention to what’s going on outside of the car,” Lovelady said. “Be aware that there will be a lot of pedestrian traffic on Halloween evening. Small children may move in unpredictable ways, such as darting out in the road without checking and things like that.”
Lovelady said SPD officers will be on patrol Wednesday night, conducting security checks in trick-or-treating areas throughout the night.
“Expect to see officers going through these areas, making sure your kids are safe,” Lovelady said. “They’ll go through neighborhoods and the main areas we expect individuals to be trick-or-treating.”
Although officers will be patrolling, Lovelady still asks the community to report any suspicious or malicious activity.
“We have had some malicious mischief that goes on over the years,” Lovelady said. “If you see suspicious or malicious activity, please report it to us.”
Lovelady said Starkville typically sees mild Halloween-related activity.
“Throughout the years, we’ll have some malicious mischief or some suspicious activity, but for the most part, once we check it out, everything will be okay,” Lovelady said.
For example, in Halloween in 2016, Lovelady said a caller advised that there were approximately 20 individuals trick-or-treating together, smoking marijuana and bursting pumpkins on the street.
Another caller in 2014 reported that their residence had been egged.
Sometimes, reporting an incident can simply be for the safety of an individual.
In 2014, SPD received a call that someone “possibly drunk” was walking down Highway 12 in a pirate outfit.
“Every once in a while, we do have some suspicious or malicious activity, and we are asking people in the community to report that activity if they see it,” Lovely said.