Arrange to have an officer check your property over break

For a burglar, student housing around college campuses can be alluring because the burglar knows that many of the homes will be unoccupied at times throughout the year. That’s why UA police will make periodic, outside checks of unoccupied student homes in the areas shaded in blue over break.

Important:

• Though this free program should help deter break-ins, no guarantee is implied. 
• Officers are unable to check on individual apartments in large complexes.
• Do not register for the program if someone else (like a roommate) will be in your campus home/rental over break. 

Sign up starting Dec. 1 if you want your house to be checked between Dec. 17 and Jan. 9. Registration will close on Dec. 13.

Sign up

Other steps to consider

Here are a number of steps you can take make your home less attractive to criminals:

• Make your home look as lived-in as possible while you’re away.
• Have your residence secured with a security system that makes notification to the proper emergency response agencies.
• Give a spare key to a friend you trust and give them an emergency telephone number to reach.
• Arrange to have your mail and newspapers either stopped or picked up daily.
• Have someone clear the snow or make tracks to your entrances so your house looks lived-in.
• Use automatic timers to turn on a radio, television and lights at different times to hide the fact you are not home.
• Be sure you don’t announce your absence on social media sites.
• Leave your blinds like you normally would if you were home.  Only close them all the way if that is what you would normally do.
• Do not leave flat screen TVs in view from the street.
• Be sure to close and lock the garage as well as any storage sheds, gates, etc.
• Take pictures of your valuables including serial numbers and save them in cloud storage or an e-mail you can easily access later.
• Ask your friend to occasionally park in your driveway. If you are leaving a vehicle parked outside, have the friend move it periodically so it looks as though you are home.