For Hartford Police on Halloween night, the biggest focus is pedestrian safety, with violent crime and property damage not much more likely to occur on Oct. 31 than any other night.
“We see some smashing of pumpkins and that kind of behavior that can happen, but mostly we just want to make sure everyone is safe from a pedestrian standpoint,” said Lt. Will Furnari, of the department’s community outreach division.
Across the Upper Valley, trick-or-treaters can expect to see police officers out and about to ensure safety as a large number of people fill the streets after dark.
As a possible result of this presence, there hasn’t been a notable spike in incidents requiring police assistance on Oct. 31 in the past few years, at least not in Hartford, Lebanon, Hanover and Norwich.
For the last four Halloweens in Hartford, the majority of incidents are logged as directed patrols, meaning that officers proactively become involved in a situation to ensure safety as opposed to waiting for a call for service.
The hour with the most activity in Hartford the past four Halloweens was 10 p.m., which accounted for 23% of the incidents, according to data prepared by Hartford Analyst Amie Wunderlich.
Aside from directed patrol, the most common incident type was motor vehicle complaints, accounting for 15% of incidents. Following that were wanted person incidents, at about 7%, and suspicious activity, also at 7%.
“We don’t have a whole lot of concerns about candy and that kind of thing,” Furnari said of the risk of candy being tampered with.
On Oct. 30 last year, there were four less calls for service than on Halloween, noted Furnari. The typical number of officers out in town can range from two to four, similar to any other night, he said.
“We leverage the experience of folks who’ve been around to think about where there could be a greater increase in foot traffic, and just make sure that we’re out and people see us and feel safe to go out and trick or treat,” said Furnari.
In Lebanon on Saturday night, there will be six officers on duty, said Chief Phil Roberts.
Over the past four Halloweens, Lebanon Police saw an average of about 35 incidents across the city, including directed patrols. Last year had the highest number in years, with 50 police responses.
Roberts noted that there is not a significant spike in calls for service on Halloween night, but the department puts an extra emphasis on visibility to ensure pedestrian safety on such a high-traffic holiday.
The vast majority of police responses are initiated rather than reactive. In 2025, police-initiated responses accounted for 48% of the incidents in the Oct. 31 Lebanon Police call log. Officers conduct patrols throughout neighborhoods particularly popular for trick-or-treating.
There was only one 911 call last year in Lebanon, and it was regarding a motor vehicle incident. The Valley News excluded one burglary alarm, one police department supervisory alarm and one radio detail from a breakdown of how police were alerted to incidents.
Looking at the most recent call log published by Lebanon Police, Oct. 25 of this year, there were 49 incidents in total, with 62% being directed patrols.
Roberts suggests trick-or-treaters use flashlights or wear reflective clothing, and stay on the sidewalks and crosswalks. He also called on motorists to drive more slowly, remain alert and exercise additional caution in residential neighborhoods.
“Our biggest message to the public is simply to be mindful of the increased pedestrian activity, particularly during the evening hours,” said Roberts.
In Hanover, the number of incidents on Halloween has remained steady across the past four years, with 18 in 2022, 16 in 2023, 14 in 2024 and 15 in 2025.
Data provided by Hanover Chief James Martin also included incidents in the early morning hours of Nov. 1, of which there were an average of 6.25.
On Saturday, Hanover Police Department will deploy bike patrol officers throughout neighborhoods in town, said Martin, and distribute reflective candy bags and blue and orange light sticks to ensure children are visible in the dark.
“Our goal is to help everyone enjoy a safe Halloween while creating opportunities for positive interaction between our officers and the community,” he said.
Over in Norwich, Halloween night can be as quiet as any other day, with an average of 4.25 calls across the past four Halloweens.
“Generally, calls for service don’t appear to change significantly from other times,” said acting chief Sgt. Stuart Rogers.
Among the eight calls in 2024, which is the town’s highest total in the last four years, there were two motor vehicle crashes.
Several streets in Norwich are closing at 3 p.m. Saturday to ensure pedestrian safety, including Carpenter Street, Hazen Street and from 320 Main Street to Koch Road. Norwich crossing guards will assist pedestrians downtown, and the police department plans to set up a trick-or-treating stop to hand out glow sticks for visibility.
“It’s the basic things: knowing where your kids are, where they’re going, staying in touch with them, having a way to reach them if you need to in an emergency,” said Furnari.
