MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif.- Parents, your trick-or-treaters are a bit safer because officers are pulling sex offenders of our streets-if they're caught violating parole. Every year their resources are stretched thin and this Halloween we find out why parole agents said the system could work a little better.
"Seriously are you guys taking me in?" said a parolee in Prunedale.
Parolees are supposed to be at a pre-determined location between 5pm Halloween night and 6am the next morning. Agents arrested a Prunedale man on multiple charges, one because he wasn't at his house by 5pm. Only four parole agents are responsible for checking in on all GPS monitored sex offenders every Halloween in Monterey County.
"You've been avoiding them," said Agent Brown.
They make sure parolees aren't violating any of their conditions and every visit is unpredictable.
"I've been here," said a parolee.
Agent Kelvin Brown said bigger cities like San Francisco have a central place where offenders can be watched during trick-or-treat time.
"The problem is that we don't have a facility that large enough to house these guys," Agent Brown said.
But Agent Brown said the GPS monitor system works well and watches their every move.
"This is the life-line (the computer system) to that monitor," he said.
But agents still have to travel far to check in on parolees in person. When they hop in a car and head out all over the county, it takes a lot of resources to monitor more than 150 parolees even when they're wearing a monitor.
"It would take less resources and less time to visit these guys to make sure they're at the location because we could physically be right there," Agent Brown said.
The sheriff's department said there are more than 800 registered sex offenders in Monterey County alone-about 90 % are compliant.
