The Livermore Police Department wants all of our community members to have a safe and memorable Halloween this year. Here are some tips to make your holiday a safe and fun one.
Trick or Treating:
• Before heading out to trick or treat, check your child’s costume to ensure it is safe. If they are wearing a mask, make sure that the eyeholes are large enough for good peripheral vision. If they have a cape or flowing costume, make sure they won’t trip while walking.
• We strongly discourage anyone from carrying toy or replica firearms, as someone may mistake it for a real gun and call the police. Swords, knives, and other costume accessories should be short, soft, and flexible.
• Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars.
• Use trick or treating as an opportunity to teach your children how to cross a street properly. They should always look both ways before crossing the street and should only cross at corners or crosswalks. Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them. Set a good example for them and others.
• Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never dart out into a street or cross between parked cars.
• Instruct your children not to eat any treats until they bring them home to be examined by you. This way you can check for any problem candy. Parents should examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before allowing kids to eat.
• Instruct your child to never go into the home of a stranger or get into their car. Explain why this is not a good idea and what to do if someone approaches them and tries to talk to them.
• Encourage your children to walk and not to run while trick or treating to avoid trips and falls.
• Children should always go trick or treating accompanied by a responsible adult. If you can't take them yourself, see if another parent can.
• If your child is old enough and responsible enough, to go out by themselves, plan a safe route for them so you know where they will be at all times. Set a time for their return home. Make sure that they have a cell phone with them. Program LPD’s direct phone line to Dispatch (925-371-4987) into their phone to use in an emergency. Make sure they know to stay in populated areas that are well lighted with lots of people around.
• If your child is going out unaccompanied, explain the difference between tricks and vandalism. Throwing eggs at a car or home may seem funny but they need to know the consequences of vandalism.
Driving on Halloween evening:
• Popular trick or treating hours are 5:30 to 9:30. Turn on your headlights before dark to help see pedestrians and also be more visible to them.
• Don't use a cell phone or other electronic device while driving on Halloween night. With so many kids out in our community, drivers need to be on high alert and not distracted by a phone call or text.
• Pay extra attention, particularly to crosswalks, intersections and the side of the road. Kids tend to walk along the curbs, cutting across the street to get to other homes. Keep scanning all around you as you drive.
Anticipate pedestrian traffic.
• Slow down in residential areas. This will allow you time to stop if you see a child dart in front of you.
• Enter and exit driveways slowly.
• Do not pass other vehicles that have stopped in the roadway, they could be stopping for children crossing the roadway, or dropping off children.
• If you are dropping off or picking up your kids in an area, pull completely off the road into a safe spot, and do not block the roadway.
• Don’t drink and drive.
Our officers will be out in the community on Halloween night helping to ensure the safety of everyone. If you see suspicious activity, please call and report it. Together we can make Halloween 2015 a safe and memorable holiday.
