So now that many people are making plans for a summer getaway, even if just for a three-day weekend, how do you keep your home safe while you are gone?
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office has a plan in place. It’s the Summer Home Check program. Simply call the Sheriff’s Office at (850) 747-4700, and ask for Dispatch. The telecommunicator in Dispatch will take your information down and send someone to check on your home while you are away.
The BCSO also has some tips for those who will be away from home for a week or longer:
• Cut back bushes around windows so you don’t give cover to anyone who may try to get inside through a window.
• Install floodlights that are motion-sensitive around your home.
• Cut off mail delivery while you are gone so a full mailbox doesn’t signal the fact you are out of town. Do the same if you receive a newspaper delivery, or make plans to have someone pick up anything you have delivered to your house while you are away.
• Put lamps inside your home on a timer so it will appear someone is at home when you’re gone.
The Summer Home Check program will send a marked vehicle by your home regularly to get out and check around the home. Call (850) 747-4700 to schedule your home for the Summer Home Check extra patrol.
