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Police warn parents to check trick-or-treat candy thoroughly

Forget about the ghosts, goblins and ghouls; the scariest things you’ll find on Halloween night might be what you bring home.
Halloween

Forget about the ghosts, goblins and ghouls; the scariest things you’ll find on Halloween night might be what you bring home.

“It’s very concerning for us,” Reynoldsburg Police Officer Nikki Riley said.

Riley says that’s because it’s an idea that goes against the grain.

“[It] pretty much goes against everything we teach the other 364 days a year to not take candy from strangers,” she said.

Trick-or-treating, in recent years, has been a growing cause of concern for police and parents. Last year, after a 14-year-old girl went trick-or-treating in a Reynoldsburg neighborhood, she bit into a bite sized Snickers bar only to find a razor blade wedged in the middle. She was unharmed, but the source of the blade is still undetermined.

“No, we still don’t know which house it came from,” Riley said.

Riley says the investigation couldn’t determine if the razor blade was put there intentionally, or if it was an accident that happened at the candy factory. The individually wrapped piece of candy, she says, did not appear to be tampered with before the teen opened it.

Riley says now more than ever parents need to pay attention.

“I think we just need to be vigilant and I think parents need to be vigilant and they need to be involved with their kids at trick-or-treat time,” she said.

This Halloween, consider these tips:

  • Limit trick-or-treating to houses you’re familiar with
  • Don’t accept homemade treats
  • Look for tears, holes and pin holes on each piece of candy
  • Squeeze or feel the texture of wrapped candy, checking for abnormalities
  • When you return from trick-or-treating, put all candy on a table in a well-lit room for a thorough inspection

The tips aren’t to scare the public, but rather to remind parents the best offense is a good defense.

“We just want everybody to approach it in a safe manner and to maybe get the whole family involved,” Riley said.

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