Headline news from the Riverside Sheriff’s Department:

On September 14, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 902, which established sex offender residency and loitering prohibitions within the unincorporated areas of Riverside County.

Ordinance 902 was changed to establish time, place and manner restrictions on sex offenders on Halloween.
The amendment reads, in part, that a (registered) sex offender would be prohibited from decorating their dwelling with Halloween decorations, that they will leave all exterior residential, decorative and ornamental lighting off at the dwelling during the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. and that the registered sex offender would be prohibited from answering the door of the dwelling to children who are trick-or-treating.

According to the provisions of the ordinance, a person determined to be in violation of this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor offense; subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1000) or six months (6) in jail, or both. Current probationers or parolees in violation of the ordinance may receive additional penalties for violation of their court or state-imposed conditions.

The ordinance will be enforced in the unincorporated areas of the county.  Deputies will be the lead law enforcement agency in enforcement of this ordinance on Halloween. However, this Halloween will have an added enforcement program provided by the county-wide Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) task force. The Division of Adult Parole Operations, in conjunction with SAFE, will conduct specific enforcement on registered sex offender parolees to ensure compliance with their terms and conditions as well as the new ordinance. This enforcement program will take place throughout the county.

The Sheriff’s Department is working collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to provide as much law enforcement presence as practical during Halloween to help protect our children as they enjoy the trick-or-treating festivities.

Filed under Neighborhood, Headline

Thursday, October 27, 2011

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