(La Porte County, Indiana) - With Halloween trick-or-treating coming up, the La Porte County Sheriff's Department launched a preemptive strike against sex offenders.

On Thursday, officers canvassed the county, checking the whereabouts of all 123 registered sex offenders in the area.  Dubbed Operation Candy Corn, the effort also involved officers from La Porte, Michigan City, Kingsford Heights, Indiana Department of Corrections, even US Marshals.

Three of the offenders were found to be non-compliant; one offender was arrested and jailed for failing to register. As a result, all sex offenders were advised not to participate in trick-or-treat activities this year.

You can do a clean sweep of areas you plan to trick-or-treat in by utilizing the OffenderWatch Sex Offender Management System available through the Sheriff Department's website (click here to visit).  The system allows you to search particular neighborhoods for registered sex offenders.