If you are planning to go out of town for the holidays, consider requesting a vacation home security check from our Police Patrol Volunteer Unit (VIPS).
Requests must be received three days prior to your trip to ensure a visit. To sign up, go to www.fremontpolice.org/vacationrequestform and fill out the online form a few days before you leave.
Vacation home security tips:
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An empty house is a tempting target for a burglar so make sure you do your best to have your home look occupied while you are away.
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Find a trusted friend or neighbor to watch your house. Give them your contact information in case they need to get a hold of you.
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Never broadcast your travel plans on a community email group, blog, Facebook, or other social networking site and remember if you check-in on foursquare or Facebook, everyone knows you aren't home!
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Install good locks on the doors and windows and use them.
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Engrave your valuables with your phone number and place "Operation Identification" stickers on your entry door and front window.
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Never leave a house key hidden outside of your home. If it is hidden in a pot, under the mat, beneath a rock or in a fake rock someone else may find it and enter your home while you are away.
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Stop all deliveries or arrange for someone to pick up your mail, newspapers, and packages.
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Arrange for someone to mow your lawn and maintain the yard while you are away. This keeps your home looking lived in.
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Place your inside lights and a radio on timers so that they go on and off, periodically in the evening hours.
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Hide your garbage cans out of sight. If your garbage cans are empty when everyone else’s are full, it is a sign that you are not at home.
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Turn the ringer on your telephone down low or off so that people outside of your home will not hear the phone ringing and going unanswered.
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Be sure to close and lock the garage door too. When possible have a friend or family member park a car in your driveway occasionally so that it looks like someone is still at home.
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Leave your blinds and drapes in their normal position on second floor windows (closed on ground level so no one can look inside and view an empty home).
Remember when you return home, if it looks like someone has entered your home - don’t go inside! Instead use a cell phone, go to a neighbor’s house or other safe location to contact the police. Let the police check your home before you go inside.
To report an in-progress emergency dial 9-1-1. To report suspicious activity or a non-emergency dial 510-790-6800 and select option 3.
We wish you a safe holiday season!
