NCSO offers Halloween trick-or-treating guidance

With Halloween here, Acting Sheriff Michael J. Filicetti reminded citizens of a valuable resource offered by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.

“NCSO maintains a program called OffenderWatch to track and publish sex offender data throughout Niagara County. There are over 600 registered sex offenders throughout our county and it is imperative that parents and children know where these individuals reside. This tool provides citizens with a way to monitor sex offenders in their neighborhood or in any neighborhood where they plan to visit for trick-or-treating. Having this vital information can help parents ensure the safety of their children.

“Citizens are encouraged to check any addresses where they or their family members spend time.

“The interactive map and address feature through OffenderWatch found on NiagaraSheriff.com and our Niagara Sheriff mobile app will allow you to easily locate where offenders live. This valuable resource will help provide you with the tools you need to help keep your loved ones as safe as possible. You will also find many other beneficial tools such as the ability to sign up for free email and text notifications to inform you when an offender moves within a specified radius of any address you register. These notifications are pushed to users automatically whenever an offender submits such an update with the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.

“To utilize this free and confidential service, please visit www.NiagaraSheriff.com and select the ‘Sex Offenders’ icon located on our homepage. There, you will be directed to our OffenderWatch service and need only to follow the instructions to register for alerts. In addition, this service is available on the Niagara County Sheriff mobile app, under ‘Sex Offenders.’

“The Sheriff’s Office will have additional patrols throughout Niagara County on Halloween. All marked patrol units will have individually wrapped candy for anyone out trick-or-treating.

“Due to the coronavirus, the Sheriff’s Office was unable to hold our annual trunk or treat event. Providing deputies with some candy for the children is a great way to continue interacting with the community.

“For additional information regarding our OffenderWatch program, please contact Deputy Joseph W. Flagler at 716-438-3314 or [email protected].