People celebrating Halloween are being urged to keep their tricks within the law and show respect to residents. For example Norfolk Police officers say that they will be working with residents, partner agencies and local businesses aiming to make sure that celebrations are safe and enjoyable for everyone. The force adds that extra officers will be on duty for what can be one of the busiest periods of the policing calendar.
Inspector Paul Garrard, from the Operational Partnerships Team said: “Our key message here is for people to be respectful of others. We want everyone to have a happy Halloween and understand that this celebration brings trick or treaters out into our community. Last year we had very few reported Halloween related incidents and hope that this will continue for this year’s celebrations. With this in mind we are asking people to please be mindful that some of our more vulnerable residents who can find this a distressing time of year, and find people knocking on their door after dark a scary experience. We would ask everyone to respect the wishes of those who choose not to celebrate this occasion.
“The same applies for Bonfire Night – we urge everyone to have fun, stay safe and respect residents in their neighbourhood.”
Norfolk Police received around 55 calls related to Halloween in 2013. This continued the trend of a reduction in calls over Halloween that Norfolk has seen over the past few years, with 70 received in 2012, 82 in 2011 and 2010 and 98 in 2009.
As in previous years, planning and preparation for this peak time of year is a multi-agency effort including: Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service, Norfolk County Council through Trading Standards and the Youth Offending Team, as well as other local authority resources.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Nick Dean said: “As ever, we hope that people will take a responsible attitude to Halloween and bonfire night. Thanks to continuing support from the local media, parent agencies and local businesses, members of the public have responded well to our requests for them to act responsibly and consequently we continue to see a reduction in the number of calls we received related to anti-social behaviour over Halloween. We hope this will continue and aim to continue this good work across the county to keep the number of disturbances to a minimum.”
Stuart Horth, Head of Community Safety at Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This time of year is an opportunity for families to get together to enjoy the many events which are being held across the county. However, there is also a serious side to Halloween and Bonfire Night as people must remember to put their own, as well as the safety of others, first.
“The Fire and Rescue Service has once again been working closely with other partner agencies to ensure members of the public are informed of how to be safe. If you are organising your own bonfire night event, or if you are taking part in trick or treating, I would urge you to be considerate of others as not everyone celebrates at this time of year.”
Norfolk Community Safety Partnership offers these safety tips to young people who intend to go trick or treating:
Never go trick or treating alone or split up from your friends.
Always check with your parents or carer first.
Only go to houses where you or your friends know who lives there.
Don’t go into any house – stay on the doorstep.
Don’t talk to strangers on the street.
Stay in well-lit areas and carry a torch.
Take care when crossing roads – it may be hard to see so well in a costume.
Although Halloween is about looking spooky, be careful not to frighten the elderly.
Eggs and flour make a mess and most shops won’t sell them to under 16s over Halloween.
A selection of posters are available for people to display in a window or on their front door – dependent on their view of Halloween.
One poster welcomes trick or treaters to the doors of residents while an alternative asks that trick or treaters do not disturb residents. There is a poster with the message that shopkeepers will not be selling eggs or flour to under 16s at the end of October.
