York County agencies bringing on extra patrols for Halloween trick-or-treating

As little goblins and witches take to the streets for Halloween on Saturday, York County authorities will be bringing on extra patrols to keep trick-or-treaters and their families safe.

Capt. Mark Bollinger said even with Halloween falling on a Saturday, the Rock Hill Police Department is not anticipating a higher than normal call volume, but is bringing on extra officers to ensure safe trick-or-treating.

“Halloween hasn’t been bad the last couple of years,” he said. “We try to get back into the neighborhoods more so the kids and families are safe. It’s going to be tough answering calls for service and patrolling the neighborhoods, but we’re going to do the best we can.”

Downtown Rock Hill once again will be teeming with trick-or-treaters for Boo-HaHa. This year’s event will be from 4-6:30 p.m. Saturday at Fountain Park. More than 25 vendors will have candy, games and other entertainment.

The York County Sheriff’s Office is also bringing on extra deputies for Saturday, spokesman Trent Faris said. Some of the extra officers will be conducting random door-to-door checks to make sure registered sex offenders are in their homes.

The S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services is again enforcing its Halloween curfew for registered sex offenders from 5:30-9 p.m.

Bollinger urged people driving their children around for trick-or-treating to park properly and not block any roadways. Costumes should be bright or have some kind of reflective tape on them, and anyone walking on the sidewalk or near the roadway should have a flashlight or lantern.

The S.C. Highway Patrol is urging particular caution to pedestrians and other motorists, noting that there have been 91 pedestrian fatalities so far this year compared to 84 at this point last year.

Historically, statistics show that the leading time for fatal crashes in South Carolina is 6 p.m. to midnight, and the leading day is Saturday with Friday night being second.

“Except under rare circumstances, pedestrians cannot walk legally in the roadway,” said Col. Mike Oliver of the Highway Patrol. “The vehicle has the right-of-way in most situations where a shoulder or sidewalk is available.”

Bollinger and Faris said their departments have been made aware of a warning issued by the FBI about an alleged threat made by an anarchist group toward law enforcement officers on Halloween.

“It specifically was targeted for major cities. Charlotte was one of them,” Bollinger said. “We did get the bulletin, and it was circulated among the police department.”

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 8:30 PM with the headline "York County agencies bringing on extra patrols for Halloween trick-or-treating."