Several police departments in Central Texas offer a free home safety check program for people who plan to leave their home unattended, which could be useful especially during the holidays.
The program makes sure homes have not been burglarized throughout the homeowners absence or sustained any damage.
At Hewitt Police, officers try to check on the homes signed up for the program twice a day. They make sure the front door and vehicles left there are secure.
"I would rather spend the time getting out of the car and walking around the residence, making sure that's safe instead of us taking a report about something being stolen or your home being broken into,” Hewitt Police Chief James Devlin said.
To sign up for the 14-day program, residents fill out a form that asks questions such as emergency contact information and details about your home.
"On average, we probably have three to five Hewitt residents a week, that have one of these filled out,” Devlin said.
The Waco Police Department also offers a house watch program throughout the year.
The Citizens of Patrol group, which is formed by volunteers, check those homes. In addition, officers on patrol are given the addresses of the houses signed up, which they check as often as their call load allows.
"It's a piece of mind for the homeowners to know that someone is going to come by the house. We're not only looking for things like a broken door or a window broken. Check if the water is running from inside of the home, maybe a pipe broke or something inside the house,” Waco Police Spokesman Sgt. Swanton said.
Law enforcement agencies, such as Hewitt, Waco, Harker Heights, Belton, Killeen, Temple and Bell County offer this program.
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