Trick-Or-Treaters Gather Candy At Broken Arrow's Safety Spooktacular

Free, fun, and safe - that has always been the goal of the Safety Spooktacular. It is the 22nd year the Broken Arrow Police Department has hosted the event.

Conner Poole does community engagement for the department. "What we want is a safe alternative to trick-or-treating for children," he said. "We shut down Main Street from Fort Worth all the way to Elgin and every intersection is barricaded."

Chris Caughron is a former officer himself and loves that BAPD is making trick-or-treating safer for his son. He said it is also easier than going door-to-door in a neighborhood.

"It is wonderful because he gets a lot of candy really fast," Caughron said, "It is something we can do quickly, and it is just a fun safe environment that we can come out to."

Handing out free candy is only a small part of what the Safety Spooktacular is. The event also allows the public to connect with a hundred different organizations, small businesses, and area first responders.

"We also get to engage with the community and have any kind of talks that they might want to have," said Poole. "It is more inviting, especially around a holiday like this, to come out and bring your kids and just have a small conversation with a police officer."

A career that kids look up to, so much so, many of them dressed up as first responders for Halloween, including Caughron's son. "We were going to go walk around and meet everybody," he said. "He wants to get his picture taken with a firefighter."

The Broken Arrow Police Department also believes interacting with first responders can bridge the gap for crime prevention in the community.

"Having that relationship with our community really engages them to want to talk with us and give us information on the crime that might happen," said Poole.