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Police can save day with vacation checks
(by Joan Demirjian - July 09, 2012)
Police can save day with vacation checks
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Vacationing residents can leave their homes with some peace of mind with local police departments regularly checking on their houses. Sometimes those checks have uncommon results.
Bentleyville Police Chief Timothy Pitts said his department has been doing vacation checks for about 30 years. People call, and the department requires that they put in writing what they want done. They may ask police to make sure that older children staying at home don't hold parties, he said.
Mr. Pitts recalled an incident several years ago at a house that backs up to the Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation and the Chagrin River. The homeowners' college-age children were at the house and had a campfire near the river, he said. A friend arrived and was walking to the campfire and tripped, gashing her head, he said.
An officer saw the car at the house, which was on vacation watch, stopped in and heard the woman screaming, Mr. Pitts said. She was running toward him, blood running down her face, and two young men by the campfire had heard the screams as well. They came running behind her with a hatchet, thinking they would be protecting her, he said.
It took some explanation of the situation to the officer, Mr. Pitts said. "The kids should have called to tell police that they were going to be there for the campfire."
Bainbridge Police Chief Jon Bokovitz said, if residents call the department before leaving, officers check on their homes every day if they are gone for three days or longer. He said the police department has been providing vacation checks at least since 1985.
One year, police Sgt. Dale Buckingham was checking on a house and found condensation on the basement windows. Further investigation revealed that a waterline in the house had broken. He called the homeowner, and the situation was taken care of before more damage occurred.
An officer stops once a day and walks around the house, Mr. Bokovitz said. "We check to see if doors are locked and there are no disturbances," he said. "It's good for an officer to do a visual check around the house."
The department advises people to leave lights on timers and not to let newspapers pile up in their driveways. Mail should be held at the post office.
"Have a trusted neighbor keep an eye out as well," Mr. Bokovitz said.
Police sometimes find people who are at the house feeding pets or cleaning, so it's good to advice police about that. They have found doors open on occasion, usually soon after cleaning people have been at the house, Mr. Bokovitz said.
In one incident, a garage door was left open by a friend taking care of pets or plants, he said.
"It's a good thing, and it's a service we provide," Mr. Bokovitz said of vacation watches. "I've gotten calls from people saying they appreciate it."
Russell Police Chief Timothy Carroll said people request vacation checks. They providee information on who might be at the house while they are gone and which cars might be in the yard or garage, he said.
The police department tries to do checks once every 24 hours, as time permits, he said, and officers walk around the house. "Occasionally, we'll find a door unlocked," Mr. Carroll said.
"It's a great service that we can provide to residents," he said.
If the house has an alarm system, police don't touch the doors, Mr. Pitts said, but they do their checks by looking in windows.
"We know what cars will be in the garage, and we have a contact person given by the homeowner," he said.
When residents fill out a house-watch form, the details are important, he said. They should tell police if someone will be checking the house or if friends will be there, he said. "We want it in writing."
Bentleyville officers check on a house two or three times on a shift, he said.
"If we see a package left out, we put it in a container at the station and call the residents," Mr. Pitts said.
Little things are important, he said. People have to lock doors, leave lights on timers and lock car doors, he said. "People have to understand they have to do things to protect themselves."
Chagrin Falls Police Chief James Brosius said people who are going out of town fill out a form for the police department. "If there is an issue, we know who to contact," he said.
Special attention is paid to a house when a homeowner asks, he said. That could be even when they are home, if that person has reason to feel threatened by someone, he said.
While it's difficult to accept responsibility for people's belongings, the Chagrin department does do house watches, Mr. Brosius said. Officers check for storm damage, he said. "It's not that hard to check on a house, and it provides a service for residents."
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