Charlotte 2017 Halloween Sex Offender Safety Info

As little ghosts and goblins prepare for their big night of trick-or-treating, parents may want to arm themselves with information on which houses to avoid while going door-to-door in the Charlotte area.

To make it simple for parents across the state to protect their kids from dangers that may lurk in their neighborhoods or nearby, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation offers a handy, searchable database. That database contains the names, offenses and last known addresses of the state’s registered sexual offenders and predators.

There are 817 registered offenders listed as living in Charlotte, according to the site. Parents who want to check out the map for themselves can visit the North Carolina's sex offender registry. There, you can search for sex offenders by: address, county, offender’s name, latitude and longitude, and the offender’s sex registration number.

The Board of Directors for the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws objects to local public safety maps which pinpoint the addresses of individuals listed on official state sex-offender registries. You can read their letter to Patch explaining their position here.

READ ALSO -- 'Then I See The Delight In Your Eyes Turn To Fear': This is why Patch publishes local sex offender maps.

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The information on the online registry is considered public record, NCSBI said. “This information is made available for purposes of protecting the public, for increasing awareness, for keeping the public informed and for allowing citizens to take proactive measures to ensure safety in their communities,” the website said.

Residents can also sign up to receive notifications by signing up here.

Patch Editor Sherri Lonon contributed to this report.

Article image via Patch Media

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