Halloween is one of the only nights children get to walk the neighborhood, knock on doors and come home with a bag full of candy. It’s also one of the few nights that the neighborhood fills up with strangers, dim lights and unlocked front doors.

To help local families navigate it, Cary Gallop, a crime prevention deputy for the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and R.A.D. coordinator, shared his rundown of ways parents can keep children safe this Halloween.

Gallop has spent 38 years in law enforcement and is a part-time national instructor for radKIDS, a curriculum that teaches children ages 5 to 12 how to recognize danger, avoid it and, if needed, physically get away from it.

“This [radKIDS] is to me the bravest thing I’ve ever had the opportunity to do,” he said.

Stick to What You Know

Gallop’s first piece of advice: Trick-or-treat where you actually know the people, not just the streets.

“If it’s in an area where we don’t know what we’re getting, it’s important to inspect what they have before consumption or before use,” he said. “Along with that, it’s super important that there’s some type of adult supervision while they’re doing it.”

He’s seen parents get too comfortable.

“I believe there are some neighborhoods where parents have an overconfidence of the neighborhood they live in and their kids’ knowledge of it, so they’re okay with letting them trick-or-treat or go door to door on their own,” he said. “I think that’s a major problem.”

Don’t bother trying to rank which neighborhoods are “safest,” either.

“When I do neighborhood watch, I tell people the neighborhood is safe because you, the residents who live there, make it safe,” Gallop said.

For actual data, he pointed families to cityprotect.com, a Motorola-sponsored site where the sheriff’s office and other local agencies upload call volumes.

“You can actually go to that website, and you can look up to six months in reverse,” he said.

The Buddy System Isn’t Optional

No matter the age, Gallop said, kids shouldn’t trick-or-treat alone.

“It’s always safest if you go with a buddy or a group of buddies,” he said. “That’s not only accountability, but we know if there’s a predator or somebody that’s wanting to do something, the group of kids is a worse idea than an individual child by themselves.”

That applies even to middle schoolers who want to go without a parent.

“I don’t believe, with the way human trafficking is in our world today, including Florida, there’s any age where they’re safe by themselves,” Gallop said. “So again, the buddy system is important.”

Set the Ground Rules Before They Walk Out the Door

Asked what rules parents should set before kids head out on their own, Gallop kept it simple: “Don’t eat anything until we look at it together. Don’t separate from your group. And don’t go inside anyone’s home.”

He also recommends mapping a route ahead of time and having kids stick to it.

“What is the route you’re going to take, and do not deviate from the route, because if I need to go looking for you, I want to be able to walk that route and either catch up to you or find you,” he recommended parents ask their children.

Part of that plan should include identifying trusted adults along the way in case a child gets separated.

“A trusted adult is someone who doesn’t want to hurt you, doesn’t want to take you into a place you’re not comfortable in,” Gallop said. “It’s someone who can help you.”

Check the Candy Before It’s Eaten

Gallop said to look over every wrapper.

“We look for any wrapper that looks like it’s been opened or tampered with — if it’s a hard plastic wrapper of some kind or has other puncture holes,” he said.

Gallop also said it doesn’t matter whether the damage looks accidental or intentional. “Are either of those scenarios worth the risk of the health of your child?” he asked.

Homemade treats and fresh fruit get the same scrutiny. “As much as I love for my kids to eat fresh fruit, if it’s an apple, banana or peach, you probably shouldn’t eat it, because you really don’t know the conditions in which it comes from,” he said.

Make Them Visible After Dark

Reflective gear and flashlights matter more than most parents think, Gallop said, especially since kids tend to sprint ahead of the adults walking with them.

Deputy Gallop recommended giving children flashlights or providing them with sneakers that have reflective or flashy lights. “Flashlights are a great idea because kids can at least use them to see where they’re going, but they also help illuminate where they are,” he said.

Watch for What Doesn’t Belong

Gallop said two things are worth extra attention on Halloween night: cars and houses that feel off.

“Cars that look like they don’t belong, a vehicle that doesn’t seem to have children getting in and out of it to go trick-or-treating — it’s just sort of driving around for no apparent reason,” he said. “Those are reasons to call and get law enforcement in the area.”

Houses deserve the same instinct check. He described it as anything that “makes your stomach turn looking at it and say, ‘I don’t think I want my kid to go up to that door.’”

He also recommends checking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s sex offender registry for addresses near a planned route.

When it comes to talking to younger kids about it, he keeps the language simple. “We just say that’s a person we don’t want to talk to or become a friend of, even though they seem friendly. They’re not our friend.”

Costumes Need a Safety Check, Too

Before a costume gets approved, Gallop suggests running it through a quick test.

“Can you do the things that you need to do to stay safe while wearing it?” he recommended asking. “Does it obstruct my vision? Do I have clear vision to see where I need to go, where I’m going, who I’m going with? And if I need to run, can I run in it?”

Use Tracking Apps or Devices

Gallop’s advice is to explain the “why” for tracking your child.

One way to do this is to say to them: “Can Mom or Dad make another child just like you? No, there’s no one else in the world exactly like you. And so I give you this tag so that I always know where to find you, so that we can make sure you grow up to be who you’re supposed to be.”

Framed that way, a tracker isn’t about distrust; it’s about keeping them safe.

Where to Learn More

Gallop’s radKIDS curriculum runs for eight hours and teaches children from ages 5 to 12 how to recognize and avoid danger and physically stop violence, he said.

Families interested in a local class can find more information at radkids.org.

For neighborhood-specific crime data, visit cityprotect.com. To check the sex offender registry near your trick-or-treating route, visit the FDLE website.