DC 2018 Halloween Sex Offender Safety Map

WASHINGTON, DC — Before kids go out trick or treating on Halloween, fall is a good time to take an inventory of who is living in your neighborhood.

You may want to avoid trick or treating at these houses, apartments or businesses on Halloween, or merely be aware of who's living and working in your neighborhood during the rest of the year.

The sex offender registry search tool allows users to start their searches in an area as small as a ¼ mile radius of the listed address and goes up to the 5-mile mark. Results can be displayed in list or map form.

Here's how to find a map of sex offenders in your neighborhood in D.C. First, visit the Metropolitan Police Department's sex offender registry, which can be found here.

Then, enter your home address in the text box above the map and click "Find It!" This will show all the sex offenders within a 0.25 miles or 0.50 mile radius -- click on the radio buttons above the map to choose the size of the radius -- of your location. The sex offenders are represented by yellow dots -- click on one to get more information about that person.

Restrictions On Sex Offenders

Registered sex offenders are prohibited from entering property used for public or nonpublic elementary or secondary education as well as that of registered child care providers. Violations are considered misdemeanor crimes and are punishable by up to 5 years in jail and/or up to a $5,000.

Most Offenders Are Not Strangers

Law enforcement officials and researchers caution that the registries can play only a limited role in preventing child sexual abuse and stress that most perpetrators are known to the child. The U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees the National Sex Offender Public Website, estimates that only about 10 percent of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.

The Justice Department estimates 60 percent of perpetrators are known to the child but are not family members but rather family friends, babysitters, child care providers and others, and 30 percent of child victims are abused by family members. Nearly a quarter of the abusers are under the age of 18, the department estimates.

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Image via Shutterstock/Patch