The Collierville Police Department wants Collierville residents to follow these safety tips and use common sense to keep children safe this Halloween. Of course, if you see anything suspicious, call 901-853-3207 for non-emergency, or call 911 in the event of an emergency.
Wear brightly colored or reflective costumes.
Many costumes are dark in color. They may be suitable for daytime use, but think about the lighting when your child will be out. If a dark costume cannot be avoided, add reflective tape to increase the child’s visibility to motorists. Provide children with flashlights to carry for lighting or glow sticks as part of their costume.
Avoid trick-or-treating alone.
Groups are better for safety and make it easy to provide an adult chaperone.
Walk on sidewalks.
Whenever possible, have kids walk on the sidewalk, not on the street. Have children trick-or-treat on one side of the street at a time to lessen street crossings. Also, stress the importance of crossing streets at the appropriate locations and being very cautious when doing so.
Ensure that children know not to enter any home or vehicle for the promise of candy.
It doesn’t matter how old the kids are, it’s a bad idea.
Inspect treats.
It’s a good idea to have an adult check the candy before letting the child eat it. You should only accept homemade treats from people you know very well.
Drive carefully!
This is much more than a Halloween safety tip. You should always drive carefully! But, with so many children outside this time of year it makes sense to reinforce the idea that a lot of precious lives will be in close proximity to the street. Drive even slower in case a child doesn’t see you and darts into traffic.
The Collierville Fire Department also encourages residents to practice fire safety measures to avoid unfortunate accidents near open flames.
Choose a non-flammable costume.
Stay away from billowing or long trailing fabric. If you are making your own costume, choose material that won’t easily ignite if it comes into contact with heat or flame. If your child is wearing a mask, make sure the eye holes are large enough so they can see out.
Keep flammable decorations away from any heat source.
Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep these and other decorations well away from all open flames and heat sources, including light bulbs and heaters. Use flashlights as alternatives to candles or torch lights when decorating walkways and yards. They are much safer for trick-or-treaters, whose costumes may brush against the lighting.
Use a flashlight or battery-operated candle in a jack-o-lantern.
If you use a real candle, use extreme caution. Make sure children are watched at all times when candles are lit. When lighting candles inside jack-o-lanterns, use long fireplace-style matches or a utility lighter. Be sure to place lit pumpkins well away from anything that can burn and far enough out of way of trick-or-treaters, doorsteps, walkways and yards.
Tell children to stay away from open flames.
Be sure they know how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire. (Have them practice stopping immediately, dropping to the ground, covering their face with hands, and rolling over and over to put the flames out.) If your children are going to Halloween parties at others’ homes, have them look for ways out of the home and plan how they would get out in an emergency.
