The Dexter Police Department encourages all Halloween trick-or-treaters to have a safe and enjoyable experience this year.

Trick or treating in the City of Dexter will be held on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31, 2018 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Dexter Fire Dept located on Stoddard Street across beginning at 5 p.m. If rain they will have goodies available inside the Fire Dept Building.

With that in mind, Dexter police offer the following general safety tips:

• Wear light-colored clothing that’s short enough to prevent tripping and add reflective tape to the sides, front and back of the costume.

• Make sure children can see well through face masks, or use cosmetics to create fun or scary faces.

• Adults should accompany young children.

• Go out in daylight and carry a flashlight after dark.

• Trick or Treat in your neighborhood or visit homes you know, and participate in the trunk or treat

• Watch for traffic.

• Only give and accept wrapped or packaged candy.

• Examine all candy before allowing children to eat it.

• Keep costumed children away from pets. The pets may not recognize the child and become frightened.

Dexter, Missouri - Missouri law requires all children under the age of eight to be in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat unless they are 80 lbs or 4’9” tall.

 

Dexter Police announced today they are joining with law enforcement September 23-29 for the annual Child Passenger Safety Week Law Enforcement Campaign to crack down on Missouri’s child safety seat law violators and to reduce highway fatalities and injuries to children. 

Car crashes are the number one killer of kids. Booster seat use reduces the risk of serious injury by 45 percent for children aged 4-8 years when compared with seat belt use alone. Is your child safe? 

Chief Trevor Pulley said regular child safety seat and safety belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. 

During Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign

Dexter Police partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Labor Day weekend drunk-driving enforcement campaign. From August 17-September 3, local law enforcement showed zero tolerance for impaired driving, conducting 40 traffic stops resulting in the arrest of 1 offender for driving while intoxicated and issuing 3 speeding citations, 11 seatbelt citations, 3 driving while suspended or revoked citations along with 42 warnings for other various traffic violations.  

 “Drunk driving is a problem on our community’s roads, and the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign gives our enforcement an opportunity to help spread the message that this behavior is deadly and illegal,” said Chief Pulley.

 

Over the 2016 Labor Day holiday period (6 p.m. September 2 - 5:59 a.m. September 6), there were 433 crash fatalities nationwide. Of the fatal crashes, more than one-third (36%) involved drivers who were drunk (.08+ blood alcohol concentration [BAC]), and one-fourth (25%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Age is a particularly risky factor: Among the drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2016, 47 percent of those fatalities involved drunk drivers with BACs of .08 or higher. 

“It is the partygoer’s responsibility to refrain from drinking and driving,” said Chief Pulley. “That is why it is essential to use one of the countless tools available to ensure you get home safely. Drinking and driving is a choice; one you should never make.” 

Southeast Missouri DWI Task Force, MoDOT and MADD partnered for Saturation Saturday August 25th, 2018

The Dexter Police Department, Cape Girardeau Police Department, Malden Police Department, Kennett Police Department and the Hayti Police Department teamed up for this event.

On August 25th, 2018, the Southeast Missouri DWI Task Force, partnered with MODOT and MADD for an aggressive Saturation Saturday DWI Enforcement Campaign.  During this event, the Southeast Missouri DWI Task Force made 4 DWI arrests, issued 40 traffic citations including, but not limited to 6 speeding citations and 5 seat belt violations during this event.  Officers made 3 felony arrests as well as 6 other arrests during this event.

Saturation Saturday was a high visibility evening where police departments stepped up their DWI enforcement efforts to remind the communities that they’re out in full force, looking for impaired drivers.  It is a public awareness campaign that reminds the community:  Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

Saturation Saturday is a campaign being held in conjunction with the national ‘Drive Sober, Get Pulled Over’ campaign. 

As a second year campaign, efforts have grown from a statewide campaign to a national campaign with the state of New York and Illinois participating as well.