Operation Blackout Preliminary Stats - Knoxville

KNOXVILLE – To enhance the safety of Tennessee children, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) has visited the homes of more than 3,310 sex offenders (324 in Knoxville) this month.  Operation Blackout is designed to increase the safety of trick-or-treaters by giving sex offenders under TDOC supervision an additional layer of safety.

Halloween night hundreds of Probation and Parole Officers visited the homes of high risk sex offenders with juvenile victims.  The state-wide Operation Blackout Pre-Halloween checks yielded 12 arrests.  In Knoxville, there was one arrest for an offender living at an unregistered address.

“Every day our officers hold nearly 80-thousand offenders accountable to the conditions of their parole,” says Assistant Commissioner Alisha James.  “Operation Blackout is an additional layer of supervision for our highest risk offenders to ensure that we do absolutely everything we can to protect the communities in which we live.”

Tonight TDOC Officers will check on 845 offenders statewide with 74 of those in Knoxville.  At this time (9pm EST), 42 of the Knoxville checks have been completed.  Officers will continue checks throughout the night.  Final numbers will be shared later this week.