Staying safe while ‘Trick or Treating’ this Halloween

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Halloween is just a few days away but some of the festivities are kicking off this Friday.

Before sending the kids out, the Yuma Police Department has some safety tips for parents.

"Make sure your kids have some sort of reflective tape, glow sticks, flashlights because it gets darker earlier now,” said Sgt. Lori Franklin with the Yuma Police Department. “Make sure that they're in bunches, we don’t want them to Trick or Treat alone.”

Sgt. Franklin also said it's a good idea to tell your kids to be careful and not dart across the street to get from one house to another, and to keep to a neighborhood you know.

But if you’re looking for people and stores in your neighborhood who are participating in the spooktacular fun, there's an app for that.

Nextdoor has a Treat Map in the Discover section of the app, where users can indicate if they're passing out candy or if they have a special Halloween-themed front yard.

Caty Kobe, a spokesperson of Nexdoor, said the Treat Map can be used to plan a safe route for your kids to go out on, and that the app has partnered with local law enforcement, including Yuma police, to post important safety messages.

Yuma police will be hosting their Scary and Safe Trick or Treat event at the Yuma County Fairgrounds on Halloween night.

But other events will be happening sooner, including the Trunk or Treat happening at Yuma Senior Living on Friday evening.

To find more local Halloween events happening this weekend, go to events.kyma.com.