Halloween is this Friday and while the holiday is about being scared, police say there are some simple things people should remember to not fear for their safety.
Bowling Green Deputy Police Chief Adam Skaff said, for the most part, Halloween has typically been a safe night in town.
“Overall, our community does a good job in ensuring that people are safe,” Skaff said. “I mean, obviously, there is a difference between kids out trick-or-treating and maybe university students going out to the bars or celebrating. Obviously, we encourage everyone to have a good time and enjoy the night.”
Skaff said typically crime on Halloween is not violent and is related to people being under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Dispatch logs from 2022 to 2024 support these claims, showing limited reports of violent crime, mostly reports of traffic violations and requests for extra police patrol.
“Whether it is driving under the influence and potentially injuring themselves or somebody else or being involved in a car accident. Disorder-type crimes, meaning, knocking trash cans on the way home or disorderly behavior, where they are peeing in the middle of the street,” Skaff said while discussing usual criminal activity that occurs on Halloween. “Anything can happen, but for the most part, the majority of what we see is related to noise, parties, litter and alcohol violations.”
While police say Halloween is a generally safe night in Bowling Green, for students who are planning on spending their night out on the town, there are simple tasks they can do to protect themselves and the people around them.
Skaff says the police department recommends that anyone who goes out to drink have a plan in place on how they are going to get home.
“If people want to go out and enjoy themselves and dress up as a dinosaur, the more power to you, just be sure that if you are going to be drinking, that you either walk home, find a designated driver to take you home or the university is good about shuttle services and a lot of the apartment complexes around here have shuttle services,” Skaff said.
In addition, he recommends people who head downtown in groups employ a “buddy system,” where a friend makes sure another friend is keeping their behavior in check and not doing any actions that could put them in danger.
Skaff recommends everyone in Bowling Green, whether they are celebrating Halloween or not, report any unusual behavior to the police department. Non-emergencies can be reported by calling (419) 352-2571 and emergencies can be reported by simply calling 911.
