Community Policing - House Watch Program
If you are going on vacation or plan to be away from home for an extended period of time, the police department’s free House Watch Program can give you peace of mind. Officers will conduct periodic exterior checks while you are away, monitoring your property for inappropriate activity or emergencies.
Enlisting the police department to keep an eye out for suspicious activity while you are away from home does not guarantee against loss, theft, damage or mischief but it can be a useful deterrent to anyone who may be considering accessing your home for criminal purposes.
Whether or not you avail yourself of this free service, there are steps you can take prior to departing to safeguard your property:
- stop mail and newspaper delivery
- leave shades/blinds in normal positions
- put automatic timers on lights; set the timers so they will turn on and off at random times in different rooms
- leave a key with a trusted neighbor in case of emergency
- lock all windows and doors
- have someone park a car in your driveway occasionally
- arrange to have the lawn mowed
- shut and lock your garage door
- keep jewelry and other valuables in places other than the master bedroom (this is the first place a burglar looks)
- ask a neighbor to put out your garbage cans
Program Notes
- Please note that enrollment does not create a special duty upon the police department to monitor your home. Visual inspections of your home’s exterior will be conducted as time and manpower permits
- House checks are not conducted on homes that are occupied for any length of time during the homeowner’s absence
How to Enroll
To sign up for the House Watch program, you must submit a request. For your convenience, we have made the House Watch Program Request form available online. To view it, you will need the freely available Adobe Reader software installed on your computer, version 4 or higher.
Questions? Contact Warrenton Police Department at 252-257-3123.
House Watch Form.pdf