KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Halloween can be a fun time for families, but the Knoxville Police Department wants you to keep safety top of mind as you head out the door Monday night.
10News spoke with Scott Erland, KPD's communications manager, who shared some tips the department wants you to follow on Halloween:
1. Trick-or-treat in areas you are familiar with, like your own neighborhood or a community-organized event.
2. Follow traffic laws and use sidewalks if possible and available.
3. Make your kid's costume as visible as possible. Consider putting reflectors on them and avoid dark costumes that might blend in at night.
4. Pay extra attention to the roads if you are going to be out driving. Erland said many drivers are not used to the increased foot traffic.
"Slow down, put away all the distractions, pay attention," Erland said. "You never know when a kid might just jet out in front of you, so you want to give yourself some wiggle room there."
5. If you are going to leave your car alone, do not leave any valuables inside including firearms.
"There might be more people out that are late out and about and possibly up to no good, so we always want to encourage folks to remove any valuables from their vehicles, to really, very much include their firearms and lock their cars," Erland said. "Because there could be people out looking to do those kinds of things."
Erland said KPD will have an increased patrolling presence during Halloween night, especially in neighborhoods that tend to be very popular for trick-or-treating.