Halloween + Pedophiles = ?

Missouri just passed a new state law requiring convicted sex offenders to remain in their homes on Halloween to avoid potentially dangerous interaction with children. The law prohibits “all Halloween-related contact with children” and allows sexual offenders to leave their homes from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. only if they have “just cause.”

But the Judge allowed two provisions to stand, requiring sexual offenders to post a sign stating “no candy or treats at this residence” and to turn off any porch lights.

The state of Maryland recently sent the same signs to 1,200 convicted sex offenders and mandated that they be placed outside to discourage pedophile-children contact.

I just have to ask one thing. Seriously? First of all, these signs are some serious low hanging fruit. If state governments are really going to do the trick, shouldn't they be stationing police officers outside the homes of these supposedly dangerous individuals? These efforts are obviously the states' attempt to circumvent this problem, by creating public suspicion of these individuals. This is a case of state-sponsored ostricization. But I guess it makes sense; you wouldn't dangle a piece of meat in front of a starving dog, nor would you dangle a piece of meat in front of a pedophile, especially if that piece of meat was a small child looking to score some candy at any cost.