Last week, 18 sex offenders in Bradford County, Florida, found large red signs outside their homes that read, "a convicted sexual predator... lives at this location." The Bradford County Police Department installed the signs. 
 
 I spoke with Brad Smith, the department's Chief of Operations (pictured above left, looking least smug), to see what this new method of community notification was all about. 
 
 VICE: What's with the signs, Brad? 
 
 Captain Brad Smith: Florida statutes say that we must notify the public of any sex offenders in our jurisdiction. We already do that with Facebook and by going out into the area to notify people when the person first moves in, but we realized there was a possible issue with continued notification. For instance, if somebody moves in after we've gone around notifying people, then they're not aware that there's a predator there. We're just trying to do everything we can to make the public aware. And, in a certain sense, it protects the predator from having people, especially children, approaching their residence without being duly notified. 
 
 OK... So it's just sexual predators with child victims? Or is it all sexual predators? 
 
 It could be somebody who raped an adult or a child. In the state of Florida being a sex offender and a sexual predator are different things. A sexual predator is somebody who's been convicted of a first-degree felony that's sexual in nature or multiple second-degree felonies that are sexual in nature. 
 
 Right. Any plans to extend this to other crimes? Like murderers or serial scam artists or whatever? 
 
 Only if the Florida statutes said that we had to. At this point in time, the only statute that's directing the sheriff to do anything is with sexual predators. 
 
 I know this information is available online already, but do you think the signs will invite people to harass the people at these addresses? 
 
 No. We don't expect that to happen, and if it does, we will do everything in our power to protect the person's rights. But I don't believe this will entice anybody to approach the houses. 
 
 Are you not worried that these people will sue? This seems like something that goes beyond the statutory directive for notification. 
 
 Well, you know as well as I do that people can sue anybody for anything these days. We're certain challenges wouldn't stand up in court though, because we're being directed by a Florida statute, and the statute specifically says, "the sheriff of the county or the police chief of the municipality where the sexual predator resides shall notify the community and the public of the presence of the sexual predator in a manner that is deemed appropriate by the sheriff or the chief of police." 
 
 Do you predict a rise in the number of trick-or-treaters these guys will get on Halloween? I feel you guys are really raising the bar in terms of "that creepy house in the neighborhood that all the kids dare each other to go to on Halloween." 
 
 No... As a matter of fact, for the past several years, we've gone out to the residences that these people are registered at and notified them that they need to make sure that they do everything possible not to entice any kids to their houses. Like, don't have candy to give out, don't have their porch lights on, and don't answer the door if kids do come knocking. 
 
 But when you were a kid, wouldn't you have totally gone to a house with one of those signs and all the lights off? 
 
 I didn't even like going to the scary movies when I was a kid, let alone going to scary houses. Nobody had to tell me that I had to be careful. And in this day and age, kids are much smarter and heed warnings better than I did when I was growing up. 
 
 Right. OK, thanks Brad. 
 
 @JLCT ||||| If you've driven on Highway 301 in Starke, you may notice a red sign in front of one home. The sign was put up by the Bradford County Sheriff's Office, but it's drawing attention because it says a sexual predator lives there. 
 
 Andrew Thomas Jr. lives right behind the home that now has a red sign indicating a sexual predator. 
 
 
 
 "It just astounded me really. It's like twenty feet behind our house. That's just scary. Dude could be like watching out his back window looking at us," said Thomas Jr. 
 
 Thomas Jr. lives with his family and girlfriend and just moved in three months ago. He never thought he would live right behind a registered sexual predator. He says he's mostly concerned because he has younger siblings. 
 
 "They're right behind our house and my little brother, he goes outside all day, plays outside all day and a little sister that comes to the bus stop," said Thomas Jr. 
 
 The red sign is just the first of more than a dozen that the Bradford County Sheriff's Office will put up at sexual predators' homes across the county in an effort to inform people living in the area. 
 
 "This is all about keeping our community safe and to make sure we don't have one more victim of a sexual crime in my community as long as I'm the sheriff," said Sheriff Gordon Smith with the Bradford Co. Sheriff's Office. 
 
 The signs are legal under Florida Statute 775.21 that says law enforcement agencies can "inform the community and the public of the presence of a sexual predator." 
 
 GTN News did try to talk with Sean Starling but he didn't want to go on camera. Still neighbors like Andrew Jr. have concerns. 
 
 "Just the thought of that of them being outside and he could be watching or, you know, just come by and just wipe them up. I mean, any of that." 
 
 
 
 The Sheriff's Office tells GTN News the rest of the red signs should be up by the end of the week. 
 
 Reported by: Cameron Taylor 
 

– Police in Bradford County, Florida, have taken a highly visible step in making sure no sexual predator goes unnoticed: Officials there last week erected bold red signs in front of the homes of 18 registered sexual predators. GTN News reports that the signs are permitted under a Florida statute that gives authorities the power to "inform the community and the public of the presence" of such an offender. They read: "[Name] is a convicted Sexual Predator and lives at this location." (Side note: Florida classifies sex offenders and sexual predators differently; the latter are those convicted of a single first-degree felony or multiple second-degree felonies of a sexual nature.) A captain with the county's police department explains the reasoning to Vice: Though they already post notices to Facebook and go into the community to alert residents, "we realized there was a possible issue with continued notification. If somebody moves in after we've gone around notifying people, then they're not aware that there's a predator there." So how are these now-informed residents reacting? "It just astounded me really," says one who has seen a sign go up near his home. "It's like twenty feet behind our house. That's just scary. Dude could be like watching out his back window looking at us."