Kent Minchew, director of adult probation for the district, said sex offenders from Howard, Martin and Glasscock counties will gather for a probation meeting at the Howard County Courthouse during traditional trick-or-treat hours.

“Most of these people are eager to comply with the meeting because it not only keeps the public safe, it keeps them safe as well,” said Minchew. “They’re all for it because they can’t be accused of violating their probation because we know where they are and what they’re doing.”

“If they don’t attend, I alert the Big Spring Police Department or the Howard County Sheriff’s Office and have them pick them up. If they don’t have an officer available, then I’ll drive to their home and pick them up. Either way, they have to attend.”

Minchew said the meeting consists of counseling, as well as a presentation by Victim Services, and marks the fourth year in a row the probation office has held the mandatory gathering, which was based on a similar program used in San Angelo.

“In the past, we would just drive to their homes and make sure their porch lights were off and they weren’t doing anything to encourage trick-or-treaters,” said Minchew. “It is much easier just to have them all at one central location.”

The District Adult Probation Office won’t be the only local agency looking out for children this Halloween.

“We'll have our officers out in support of Adult Probation's program, just as we have in past years,” said Sgt. Tony Everett, public information officer with the Big Spring Police Department. “We'll be keeping a close eye on the trick-or-treaters. Unfortunately, we can't be everywhere at once, so as always, it's extremely important for parents to make sure their children are well supervised and as visible as possible when they go out trick-or-treating”

Everett said parents can find a list of sex offenders and their addresses by going to www.bigspringpd.net and visiting the Texas Department of Public Safety portal.

“That's really the best way for parents to protect their children from predators in a situation like this,” said Everett.

Sheriff Stan Parker said he and his deputies will also be paying special attention to children trick-or-treating Saturday evening.

“We're not planning any special patrols Halloween night, but the deputies on duty will be paying special attention to the children,” said Parker. “However, even with patrols looking after the children, there's a lot parents can do to help protect their children before they leave home.

“Flashlights, glow sticks, reflective tape, basically anything they can do to make them more visible to motorists. Halloween is a lot of fun for the children, but as parents we have to do everything in our power to make sure they stay safe.”

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it