Halloween is just weeks away, but the haunted houses and scary movies have been emerging for over a month, and in light of recent events, namely the Las Vegas shooting, an array of security concerns have been raised. Even the nation’s children know to be frightened by more than the ghouls in the bushes — children and parents alike worry about the real creeps that could be anywhere at anytime. Sometimes, Halloween is just a good cover.
AEGIS Security & Investigations wants to remind you about the public safety measures as well as the large-scale measures you should take this Halloween.
First, talk to your children about the safety risks they could encounter. Halloween should be a time of fun and costumes, so follow these best practices with your kids:
- At home, keep your lights on and bright if you’re expecting young kids. If you are hosting a haunted house, make sure the entrances and exits are lit well-enough for people to see their way in and out and to ensure no one unexpected to you will pop out at guests.
- If you have young children, do not leave them alone while trick-or-treating. Hold their hands even at the door. If you’re children are old enough to go alone, make sure they have a way of contacting you so they can check-in often.
- Review with children how to call 9-1-1 (or their local emergency number) if they ever have an emergency or become lost.
- Remind them about stranger danger!
For more tips, check out these sites:
Spooky Truths Regarding Halloween Safety On and Off the Road
Safe Kids Halloween Safety Tips
Second, don’t ignore the lessons from scary movies. Think back to last Halloween when the “killer clown” craze was rampant in Southern California. People dressed as killer clowns made national and world news for the various pranks and truly frightful encounters near kids. This year, the release of a revamped “It” has already proven to be problematic in one town where pranksters creeped out local law enforcement by tying red balloons to sewer grates. Remind your children that if they see this, do not go near it. Sure, it could be a funny stunt, but it could also be a predator looking to catch a kid Hollywood-style. If you are not trick-or-treating at or running through an approved, professional haunted house, avoid anything that looks like it is attempting to copy those entities.
Third, know what your security needs are for a party or a haunted house. If you’re hosting, you incur all of the costs that go into an emergency. Having physical security can reduce the potential risks. While most people use Halloween as a chance to pretend they’re evil, there are some who use it to be evil and wreak havoc.
Since the Las Vegas shooting, large-scale haunted houses have been shutting down for the season out of security concerns, and even those with mass appeal in theme parks are seeing increased security. The threat of active shooters at large festivities has never been more imminent; take precautions for your events.
Special event security is need-specific and different every time. Each occasion AEGIS’ personnel are dispatched into the field, they may be at a different location, with different clients, interacting with diverse people, and in entirely unique environments. Halloween is yet another unique setting in which events require adaptive needs. Our temporary event security solutions are flexible enough to adapt to changes in season, type of event, and clientele. Reliability, professionalism, and ability to adapt and react in a dynamic setting are a must. Our staff functions as our clients’ front line customer service personnel in addition to security, maintaining positive relationships and creating new ones. AEGIS Security & Investigations creates and executes solutions for our clients to accomplish their event specific safety and security objectives.
AEGIS Security & Investigations is a Los Angeles region company that is licensed and insured in the State of California to provide high-end armed and unarmed regular and temporary off-duty police officers, bodyguards, security officers, loss prevention agents, and event staff. Additionally, we offer services for private investigation, consultation, people tracing, and background investigation. Our trainings and workshops in the field of security licensure and counter-terrorism have been featured in news media and are renowned for their efficacy. For more information or to contact us, visit www.aegis.com.
By Chelsea Turner & Jeff Zisner
