While families filled church lots, school gyms and downtown streets on Halloween night, two separate law-enforcement efforts were running in the background in West Tennessee.
Highway Patrol checkpoints
According to NBC 39, the Tennessee Highway Patrol planned sobriety checkpoints over the Halloween weekend. On Friday night, Oct. 30, the checkpoints were set for Obion, McNairy and Benton counties. On Halloween night itself, Saturday, Oct. 31, they were set for Madison, Carroll and Decatur counties. NBC 39 said a full list of Tennessee checkpoints is posted online. The report did not say how many drivers were stopped or whether any arrests were made, and Raw 100.5 has not seen results from either night.
Operation Blackout
Separately, the Tennessee Department of Correction ran its yearly Operation Blackout, which WBBJ described as added supervision of sex offenders whose convictions involved minors. TDOC says more than 26,000 sex offenders are registered in Tennessee and about 4,400 are under active TDOC supervision. Christopher Hansen, the department's assistant commissioner of community supervision, said an offender who is not in compliance, for example by leaving lights out or not answering the door when officers check, is potentially in violation of community supervision and could be taken back into custody.
Tips for families
Officials told WBBJ that parents should stay with young children, stick to well-lit streets, and remind children never to enter a stranger's home or car. They also recommended flashlights or glow sticks, reflective clothing, and checking all candy before it is eaten. Parents can look up registered offenders near them on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's online registry.
Several of the weekend's family events were held indoors or at churches and schools, including trunk-or-treating at Lexington's Caywood Elementary and a church gathering in Humboldt. Those are covered in the related stories below.
Sources: WBBJ, NBC 39, Tennessee Department of Correction as reported by WBBJ