萬圣節之夜，孩子們挨家挨戶上演“糖果或惡作劇”的時候，也可能會成為一些潛在的危險人物對孩子們下手的好機會。加州管教與感化部今年就宣布一項法令，要求該州2000多名無固定住所的假釋性侵犯在萬圣節當晚5點至10點之間到設在各市的假釋中心報到，以確保他們不會出去惹麻煩。另外，該法令還要求該州所有假釋人員佩戴電子追蹤器，以便假釋官隨時了解其位置。此前，已有法律禁止犯案人員在學校或公園周邊2000英尺范圍內居住；加州也有法律要求有固定住所的假釋性侵犯在萬圣節之夜不得外出，不得亮燈，不得有任何節日裝飾，也不許散發糖果。

?This Halloween many paroled California sex offenders will spend the night together under supervision from authorities who want to make sure they have no contact with children out trick-or-treating.

About 2,000 paroled California sex offenders have no permanent home partly because of a state law that bans them from living near schools or parks. This Halloween, however, many will spend the night together under supervision from authorities who want to make sure they have no contact with children out trick-or-treating.

It's the first time the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is targeting offenders who live on the streets, under bridges or in nomadic campsites, though it has enforced a curfew on offenders who have permanent addresses for nearly 20 years under what it calls "Operation Boo." The new emphasis comes in response to the growing number of transient offenders, said department spokesman Luis Patino.

Their ranks have spiked in the five years since 70 percent of voters approved Jessica's Law.

The law bans offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. As one result, the number of homeless paroled sex offenders grew from 88 in August 2007, before the department began enforcing the law, to about 2,000 now that it has been fully implemented.

Three of the state's four parole regions are setting up the "transient sex-offender roundup centers," mostly at parole offices or community centers. They include the regions that cover Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and all of California's coastal counties.

Offenders have been ordered to report to parole centers from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, where they will be supervised to make sure they have no contact with children out trick-or-treating. The law also required the state to use electronic monitors to track all paroled sex offenders, so parole officers will know if offenders aren't in the curfew centers on Halloween.

California already orders sex offender parolees who have homes to stay inside and turn off their lights, and parolees are barred from putting up Halloween decorations or offering candy.

Patino said corrections officials need to take extra precautions on Halloween to make sure predators don't entice children into their homes. However, he said there has been no spike in child sexual abuse on Halloween since Operation Boo began nearly two decades ago, in part because molesters tend to shy away from the increased scrutiny.

State Sen. Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, who co-authored Jessica's Law, praised corrections officials for taking the extra steps to monitor offenders without permanent homes.

Some counties are going further than the state regulations require.

Riverside County this month approved an ordinance barring all registered sex offenders from decorating their homes, leaving on the lights, answering their doors or passing out candy on Halloween. Violations can bring a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. Tulare County passed a similar ordinance last year. The ordinances go beyond the parole requirements by applying to all sex offenders, even if they are no longer on parole.

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(Agencies)

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen ）