Grim-faced clowns have emerged across the country, scaring innocent bystanders, luring children, and even attempting break-ins. While the hoax has spread internationally, Dartmouth Police are taking a proactive stand at home.

Police Chief Robert Szala and Dartmouth Community Television coproduced a two-minute public service announcement to discourage any mask-clad entertainers or circus performers from harassing residents.

"The Dartmouth Police Department is taking a zero-tolerance stance on the clown craze plaguing the nation," said Detective Kyle Costa in the PSA. "Remember if you want to act like a clown, we have no problem treating you like one," he concluded.

Costa explained that while dressing like a clown does not make someone a criminal — although it is "strange and creepy," he said — disturbing the peace, trespassing, and enticing of a child are arrestable offenses.

The video begins with a woman reporting a suspicious person trying to lure a child. Officer Steve Canario, who first approached Costa about putting out a PSA, stops a clown who fits the description. As the clown provokes Canario, about a dozen Dartmouth Police officers file out and surround the character, who then begins shaking.

"People are much more visual," said Costa about making the video. The officers started with the idea of the clown car. "Then it kind of blossomed from there," said Costa.

Costa said that only one report of a creepy clown has appeared in Dartmouth. A clown appeared at a band practice at Dartmouth High, he said. The clown was chased off, something Costa doesn't recommend.

"Just contact us. Don't encounter anybody because you can actually get yourself in trouble," he said. "It's sad that this is the stuff we have to deal with," he added.

Since its debut, the department's PSA has gone viral, earning nearly 43,000 views and making an appearance on both NBC 10 News and ABC news.