Morris Township, Plains 2020 Sex Offender Safety Map

NORTH JERSEY— Halloween is still on in New Jersey, despite the pandemic, and as little ones get ready to trick-or-treat this year, parents may want to arm themselves with information on which houses to avoid while going door-to-door.

To make it simple for parents across the state to protect their kids from dangers that may lurk in their neighborhoods or nearby, Patch has compiled a list of registered sex offenders living in the area as of October 2020. This list represents the last known addresses of the offenders, as provided by the New Jersey State Police. It may not be complete or comprehensive, according to State Police. Not all towns in Morris County have registered sex offenders on the public list. (The list is for public information only, and cannot be used to threaten, intimidate or harass, police say.)

The registry includes Tier 2 and Tier 3 offenders: those on Tier 2 have a moderate risk of re-offending, and Tier 3 offenders pose a “relatively high risk,” according to police. The internet registry does not include Tier 1 offenders, who pose a low risk, police said.

Law enforcement officials and researchers caution that the registries can play only a limited role in preventing child sexual abuse and stress that most perpetrators are known to the child. The U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees the National Sex Offender Public Website, estimates that only about 10 percent of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.

You can see Patch’s map below, and visit the New Jersey State Police website to search across New Jersey and read more about the registry.

The Justice Department estimates 60 percent of perpetrators are known to the child but are not family members but rather family friends, babysitters, child care providers and others, and 30 percent of child victims are abused by family members. Nearly a quarter of the abusers are under the age of 18, the department estimates.

The Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers, a nonprofit organization for clinicians, researchers, educators, law enforcement and court officials involved in sexual abuse cases, cautions that children do not face a heightened risk during the Halloween season: "There is no change in the rate of sexual crimes by non-family members during Halloween. That was true both before and after communities enacted laws to restrict the activities of registrants during Halloween. The crimes that do increase around Halloween are vandalism and property destruction, as well as theft, assault, and burglary."

Related Articles

• NARSOL Objects To Local Mapping Of Registered Sex Offenders
• Sex Offender Advocates Object To Local Mapping Of Registered Sex Criminals
• Why Patch Publishes Sex Offender Registry Maps

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