WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- On October 31, plenty of kids in the Williamsport area will be going door to door to fill up their bags and buckets with sweets. With a large number of kids expected to be trick or treating, public safety officials have a few tips to keep your children safe.
“So our recommendation, especially for children under the age of 12, is that they are chaperoned by a parent, we want to make sure that they are going to houses where they are going to be welcomed for the Halloween activities,” Chief Carl Finnerty of the South Williamsport police said.
Officials say the biggest safety concern on Halloween is traffic.
“So we encourage children and adults to stay on the sidewalks and cross at main intersections at a crosswalk, we really don’t want kids to be crossing the streets in the middle of the block where there is more of a chance where they could be struck by a vehicle,” Finnerty said.
Police in Williamsport are also increasing patrols this Halloween after a rash of violence this past summer, but families in the area don't seem too concerned.
“Yeah, it did at the time, but I think we have quieted down quite a bit now,” Barbara Mertz of Williamsport said.
“There is somebody always with them, so I do watch for people around them, I get nervous around Halloween, but I’m not concerned at all,” Danielle Kitchens of Williamsport said.
Parents and families are also asked to check their child's candy when they get back home.