KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Most homes are burglarized when no one is home or when the homeowner is on vacation, according to the Kissimmee Police Department, so the PD started a specialized Vacation Watch Program.
Special Operations Division Captain Michale Tilton said the department realized it can do a better job of protecting your house if officers just ask a few additional questions when you notify them you won’t be home.
“We’re trying to give citizens the opportunity to share a little bit of information with the police department so we can more effectively do our jobs,” Tilton said.
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Questions like: Is your gate locked? Will there be any cars in the driveway? Will anybody be visiting your house while you’re gone?
“Will the lights be on at your house, outside, inside lights?” Tilton said. “This gives the officers some information so if the homeowner says, look, I’m not going to leave any lights on and if we go by and there’s multiple lights inside the house, that’s going to give us something that we may want to investigate further.”
Tilton said break-ins are minimal in Kissimmee, but when they happen it’s mostly to an unoccupied home.
“Very rarely do we have a break-in when someone is home, it’s always when the house is vacant,” Tilton said. “So having this additional information can definitely prevent crime from happening.”
Tilton said when a resident fills out the Vacation Watch Program form, the information is sent to the Officer Sayeed’s Community Engagement Unit which sends it to the Patrol Division.
“If they tell us there’s no vehicle supposed to be in the driveway and we’re doing our check our patrol and we see a vehicle in the driveway that kind of is like a red flag,” Sayeed said.
If you’re leaving for three days up to 31 days, you are eligible for the Vacation Watch Program.
If you are interested, you can sign up here.