Registered sex offenders living in Princeton face new Halloween restrictions and a wider no-loitering buffer under amendments the City Council approved Sept. 28, the first Halloween season the rules will apply.
The changes rewrite the city's regulation of sexual offenders, part of Chapter 46 of the municipal code. The ordinance took effect when it was adopted, according to its text, and violations carry a fine of up to $2,000 per offense, with each day a violation continues counted separately.
What is new
A redlined copy of the ordinance in the council packet marks these additions:
- Halloween. A registered offender may not keep an outdoor, street-facing light on, hand out candy or other items, or invite trick-or-treaters to the property. Each must also post a visible sign at the residence on Halloween saying no candy or other items are being given out.
- Loitering. The distance offenders must keep while loitering on a public way rises from 300 feet to 500 feet from a child safety zone.
- Contact and disguises. It becomes an offense to initiate contact with a child inside a child safety zone or within 1,000 feet of one, and to wear clothing, a mask or makeup that hides a person's identity within 500 feet of a zone.
- A public map. The city must create and post on its website a map of child safety zones inside city limits and update it at least once a year. The ordinance defines those zones broadly, from parks, schools and school bus stops to libraries, pools, sports fields, movie theaters and scouting facilities.
- Rentals. The ban on renting to an offender who would be living within 1,000 feet of a zone now also covers subletting and otherwise permitting someone to occupy a property, with distance measured from the boundary of the zone's property.
- Registration. A new section requires offenders who live, plan to live, work or attend school in Princeton to meet state registration and notification requirements with the Princeton Police Department.
The amendment also strikes a clause that had capped the fine at the state maximum "whichever is less," and adds language preserving the city's ability to go to court to stop a violation.
The core rule did not change: an offender still may not establish a permanent or temporary residence within 1,000 feet of a child safety zone. Exemptions remain for people whose residence predates the rule or the nearby zone and who have stayed in compliance with state registration law.
Why police asked for it
In a memo to the council, Criminal Investigations Sgt. Carolyn Crawford wrote that the existing ordinance had been a solid foundation and that the revisions improve clarity, strengthen enforcement and make the rules more legally defensible, including by adding civil enforcement tools for repeat violations. City Attorney Kellie McKee of Nichols Jackson approved the documents, the memo says, and staff listed no financial impact.
