Halloween 2017: How To Find Sex Offenders Living In Harlem

HARLEM, NY — Halloween is one of the best nights of the year for kids. It's a time to dress up in costume and parade around the neighborhood collecting free candy. But it also means staying out late at night and a lot of activity on neighborhood streets. For parents, the weeks before Halloween are a good time to take inventory of who's living in your neighborhood and which houses you may want to avoid while trick or treating.

According to the New York State Sex Offender Registry, there are at least 360 sex offenders living in and around Harlem.

The number listed on the registry does not include offenders who are not compliant with the registry or are currently incarcerated. It does include some duplicates, people with aliases and, because the registry is broken down by zip code, some who live outside of the neighborhood boundaries. For these reasons, the total number of 360 on the registry could be greater than the actual number of sex offenders living in the neighborhood.

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The state Division of Criminal Justice Services is responsible for maintaining New York's Sex Offender Registry. The registry is public record, and anyone can search to learn how many sex offenders live nearby. The DCJS updates the registry regularly, but information can change quickly. Information is often provided by offenders themselves as required by law.

Sex offenders on the registry are broken down in three tiers — Level 1 (low risk of re-offense), Level 2 (medium risk of re-offense) and Level 3 (high risk of re-offense). A judge determines an offender's risk level after a court hearing. The law requires only Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders to be listed on the public directory.

The state's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision requires that sex offenders stay inside their homes during trick-or-treating hours on Halloween. They cannot wear costumes or open their doors to hand out candy. Parole officers visit registered sex offenders' homes to ensure they're following these rules. Even though the state keeps tabs on offenders during Halloween, it's still a good idea for parents to do their due diligence.

More than half of rape and sexual assault incidents happen within a mile of the victim’s home, according to the United States Department of Justice. About 75 percent of victims know their attacker and 45 percent of victims are under 12 years old.

In a letter to Patch, the directors of the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws cited data showing that children are at no greater risk of sexual abuse at Halloween than at any other time of the year.

Here's the breakdown of the numbers of registered sex offenders listed on the state registry in each of the zip codes that make up Harlem:

• 10026: 43
• 10027: 49
• 10030: 45
• 10037: 37
• 10034: 34
• 10029: 63
• 10031: 89
• Total: 360

The zip code 10035 — which covers part of East Harlem — was not included in the count. The zip code includes Wards Island, which is home to a large number of sex offenders due to its status as one of the city's few homeless shelters 1,000 feet away from a school, the New York Times reported in 2014.

To see specific names, addresses and information about crimes committed, click here to search the New York State Sex Offender Registry.

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