In the spirit of the holiday, I decided to do my blog post on crimes during Halloween. I found an article about how a lot of crimes, mostly robberies, consist of men wearing Halloween masks to conceal their identity. The crimes listed in the article go from robberies to murders. Law-enforcement officials say they see an uptick in crimes committed by people wearing Halloween masks about this time every year. Once the costumes hit the stores in late September and early October, criminals jump on their sales and use them to strike fear in department stores.
The punishment for crimes while wearing masks is greater than ones where masks are not used. If the crime is a second-degree felony, it can be upgraded to a first degree felony if the criminal is wearing a mask. You could also be charged with a crime under a little-known Florida law that prohibits anyone older than 16 from wearing masks or hoods in public places or meetings, except during Halloween and masquerades. Are there any ways to prevent these crimes from happening or for stores and people to prepare themselves that has not already been done? (such as "safety tips" for going out on Halloween)
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-halloween-mask-crimes-20101027,0,6831891.story
Well, I guess I won't be robbing a bank in my Micheal Myers mask saturday night...
ReplyDeleteI didn't know they could bump up the severity of the crime if you're wearing a mask. It makes sense for robbers and people commiting crimes to want to do it around Halloween. Kind of a scary thought not knowing who's under all the masks we'll see this weekend.
ReplyDeleteCan that really be a law. They can make it so your not allowed to wear a certain type of clothing material or accessory, "mask". Is that constitutional?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! Did you see the movie 'Dead Presidents,' or that surf movie with Keanu Reeves? All wore masks during their crimes.
ReplyDelete