Vacation Crime Prevention Tips

Police Badge
600 East Walnut
Columbia, MO 65201-4491
573-874-7652/FAX: 573-874-3142

The mission of the
Police Department
is to reduce crime and improve public safety by enforcing the law, solving problems, providing crime prevention education and encouraging citizens to take responsibility for community safety and quality of life.

Vacation Crime Prevention Tips

Before Leaving…Secure Your Residence

Summer is a time of year that many families go on vacation. You can make each trip more enjoyable and carefree if you take a few simple steps to reduce the possibility that your house will be burglarized or vandalized while you are gone. A vacant house, or one that appears to be unoccupied, is an appealing target for a burglar.

Make sure all locks on the doors and windows function properly and use them.
Give your house a lived-in appearance. Put automatic timers on several lights, a radio, and a television. Set the timers so that the lights and appliances will turn on and off at random times.
Leave shades and blinds in a position that you would normally leave them.
Arrange for a neighbor to pick up mail, newspapers, and any other packages. Ask your neighbor to use your drive way and garbage cans while you are away.
Make sure smoke and burglar alarms function properly and are armed.
Turn the ringer on your telephone down low or off and do not leave your lights on 24 hours a day.
Ask a trusted friend or neighbor to watch over your property while you are gone and leave emergency contact information with them.
Leave a normal message on your answering machine and avoid discussing your vacation plans in public.
Contact the Columbia Police Department at #(573) 442-6131 or #(573) 874-7652 and request a vacation “watch in passing”. Officers will be made aware that you are not home and will drive by the area more frequently.