Numbers for sex offenders violating the Halloween rules were down significantly this year in Buchanan County.

The second year of compliance checks, conducted by a combination of the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, St. Joseph Police Department, and Missouri Highway Patrol, resulted in four violations and three arrests out of 132 registered sex offenders in Buchanan County. In its initial year in 2008, eight people were arrested on violations and an additional 16 were not home during the checks.

Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Shawn Collie said Terrance Rowland, 29, was compliant with the check but was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant.

Two people were arrested on violations, but their names were not released due to pending charges. Two others were not home at the time of the check.

“Our goal is for people to be compliant. So we’re really happy with the numbers,” Mr. Collie said.

Buchanan County Sheriff Mike Strong said the fewer numbers means the department is closer to having full cooperation from all reported sex offenders in regard to the Halloween laws.

“We are pleased that people on the list realize that they have to be compliant. We didn’t have near as many violations this year,” he said.

Andrew Gaug can be reached

at andrewgaug@npgco.com.