Local law enforcement & parent groups give tips for safe trick or treating

TEMPLE, Texas (KWTX) - This Halloween, thousands of Central Texas children are eager to go trick or treating again, while local police and parent groups are offering tips to keep everyone safe.

It’s something that Temple Police Officer Cody Close knows all too well, going trick or treating through many neighborhoods and getting lost.

“When I was growing up, we just went wherever we wanted for trick or treating,” she said.

“We went off to very foreign neighborhoods. I even remember a time when I got lost because I wandered into a place I wasn’t aware of.”

Thankfully, the local police helped her home, and she’s been doing the same for other families ever since joining law enforcement.

Meanwhile, groups like the Children’s Advocacy Center of Central Texas, which help children recover from traumatic experiences such as abduction, sex trafficking and abuse, say it’s critical for parents to know where their children are at all times.

“95% of the children that come in to our facility have suffered from sexual abuse,” she said.

“Start conversations tonight. Plan out where they’re gonna be and what houses they’re gonna go to.”

Among major tips are taking photos of your child in their costume and in normal clothes, map out safe routes for them to take, always have flashlights and a fully charged phone ready to call 9-1-1.

While many of these tips sound simple, Close says it could make a difference in saving a child’s life.

“We want to make sure that everybody is safe, everybody gets home and everybody has a good time,” she said.

“It’s Halloween and we haven’t been able to do trick or treating for a couple of years.”

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