By Matthew Alford, Staff Writer 

Halloween ranks among the best nights of the year for children dressed as ghosts, zombies and other monsters, but it can also bring out an unfortunate real-life scary element.  From intoxicated party-goers who decide to get behind the wheel, to burglars taking advantage of empty houses of parents escorting their kids on their candy-seeking missions, the crime rate does tend to spike on Halloween in some communities and cities.

According to the xtown.la website, based on numbers sourced from the Los Angeles Police Department’s public online database, from 2011-2017 Halloween had the highest number of crimes than any other day of the year. And get this: the average number of crimes reported on Halloween over those years? 666.

Of course, that’s an average of 666 crimes reported in a city with more than 3 million people, so no need to arm the young ones.

But, it is never a bad idea to be extra cautious whenever kids are involved. One preventive measure is to view the 25 safety tips posted on lapdonline.org, including:  kids should never enter a stranger’s home, they should walk, not run, while trick-or-treating; always walk on sidewalks instead of streets. 

As far as the CSUDH campus?  According to Campus Police Lieutenant David Hall, nothing particularly unusual “occurs on Halloween; sometimes ASI puts on events and [campus police] are [asked] to help with crowds.”

Other than that, Hall said, Halloween is just another night on campus.

So, if you’re still unnerved by the thought of going out on Halloween, just huddle in the campus library. It’s on a Thursday night, so it’s open until 11. At least you’ll know kids won’t still be out at that hour.