Havre de Grace 2016 Halloween Sex Offender Safety Map

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — Before kids go out trick or treating on Halloween, take inventory of who is living in your neighborhood.

Harford County has 201 registered sex offenders listed on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry. Each offender's photo is shown, along with an address, employer, offense and other information.

Maryland law says that some classifications of sex offenders can have contact with children. Many prohibited offenders post signs on their doors noting they do not distribute candy.

The state sex offender registry allows you to find sex offenders living or working near you and your family, provide law enforcement with tips to help find offenders, be notified of registrants' movements, and explore resources that will help you to prevent and get treatment for sexual abuse, according to the Department of Public Safety (DPS)

Maryland has no residency restrictions — say, laws that ban sex offenders from living within a certain distance of a school or child-care center — because those limits have been ineffective in other states, the DPS says. The victims and the offenders, in most cases of abuse, know each other. Having ready access to victims, in private and secretive environments, is how sex offenders thrive, officials say.

Through Maryland's sex offender registry, people may search by address, county, ZIP code or by those working at or enrolled in schools of higher education. The state reminds users: "Do not use this information to unlawfully injure, harass, or commit a crime against any individual named in the registry or residing or working at any reported address. Such action could result in civil or criminal penalties."

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

— By Patch Editor Deb Belt

Map created using Google maps.