This Halloween season keep these safety tips in mind.

The holiday season is here and it’s a busy time of year! Enjoy every moment of your holidays, but remember: don’t let your guard down. It’s easy to become distracted and preoccupied with festivities. I want to take this opportunity to offer a few safety tips and reminders to help keep you and your family safe for Halloween.

- Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.

- Drive slowly, anticipate heavy pedestrian traffic, and turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances.

- Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers.

- Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors.

Every Halloween, the Seminole County Sheriff Office teams up with state probation officers to make contact with registered sexual offenders and predators who are on probation to ensure they are complying with the Department of Corrections’ imposed sanctions for Halloween.

Offenders and predators who are on state probation are prohibited from displaying Halloween decorations or passing out candy, and must have their porch lights off between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. You can search for all registered sex offenders/predators in your neighborhood by visiting the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s website at https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/sops/home.jsf

Sheriff Dennis M. Lemma, now in his second year leading the agency, is the 10th sheriff in the history of Seminole County. As the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, Sheriff Lemma directs the agency’s enforcement, investigative, correctional, judicial, juvenile and support services.