By Kevin Castle
Bristol Herald Courier
BRISTOL, Va. — Virginia corrections officials will actively monitor select sex offenders across the state tonight in a public safety initiative that launches only on Halloween.
Operation Porch Lights Out has been going on across the state since 2001 and is a joint effort between the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Virginia State Police and individual parole and probation officers, according to an agency report released earlier this week.
“[The operation] will closely monitor a high-risk population during a time when children could be vulnerable,” a portion of the statement said.
Sex offenders are required to either remain at home with their home’s lights out or not answer the door for trick-or-treaters or they must attend a required meeting at a secure location during the hours that authorities determine are peak for those activities, the report said.
The meetings with offenders at undisclosed locations will also include educational sessions and drug and alcohol screenings, the report said, while local and state police will make random home visits during the night.
VDOC spokeswoman Lisa Kinney said that the monitoring procedure is only for offenders who are under court-ordered supervised probation and is another way to enhance public safety.
“It is not a violation of their rights. The court has already decided that they have to be supervised. It is part of their sentence and that includes these types of monitoring,” Kinney said.
Kinney said she was not aware of any incidents in which a convicted sex offender has been arrested or violated an aspect of probation on Halloween night and she called it a successful program that will continue.
A similar project is conducted in California called “Operation Boo,” according to the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.