Beware of more than ghouls out there

By Jeremy Appel on October 30, 2018.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel

With Halloween happening tomorrow, the Medicine Hat Police Service is urging people to be careful while trick-or-treating.

You won’t have to worry about poisoned candy, which fact-checking website Snopes says is a myth, but treats tampered with sharp objects do occur occasionally.

Sgt. Mike Fischer says MHPS had one report of such an incident in 2017, but it was inconclusive.

“What’s really important is inspecting the candy when you get back,” he said. “Take a look through the stuff (and) make sure everything is appropriate.”

He provided a number of other precautionary measures for families to take to ensure they have a safe and fun Halloween.

“Things have been going really well,” said Fischer. “Parents and kids are doing their jobs so far.”

Kids should trick-or-treat in groups in a familiar neighbourhood, he advised.

“Know where you’re going, be with adults and actually have adults come to the door, so that maybe they can get a look at the place that they’re going in,” Fischer said.

“Never actually step inside of a house. Stay outside.”

Seeking shelter could be an issue when it’s freezing cold out, but Wednesday night’s forecast is 1C, according to Environment Canada.

Another precaution is for groups of trick-or-treaters to stay on one side of the street to avoid any oncoming vehicles.

“Avoid criss-crossing, because that’s always dangerous,” Fischer said. “It’s always nice for the children to have some kind of reflective clothing and flashlights, so that they could be seen.”

Face painting is typically preferable to a mask, because masks limit your vision, he added.

Fischer advised homeowners to have their lights on outside, so trick-or-treaters can always see where they’re going.

“If they’ve got any type of flames in their lanterns, keep them out of reach, so that kids aren’t playing with them,” he said.

For adults attending a party, don’t drink or consume cannabis and drive.

Those who aren’t going to be intoxicated should exercise special caution on the road.

“Please watch out for the little goblins on the road, because they’re going to be everywhere,” said Fischer.

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