Volunteers Help Keep Homes Safe During Vacation

A suspicious car in the driveway or an open door – that’s what Citizens on Patrol are on the lookout for during vacation house checks.

Traci Drake with the Roseville Police Department recalls a few times when volunteers came across those red flags while checking a resident’s home. The Citizens on Patrol called and stood watch nearby until police arrived – exactly as they’re trained to do. Luckily, when officers arrived, they found the “intruders” to be friends of the vacationing homeowners, not burglars mid break-in.

Drake said those instances are proof that vacation house checks could be effective in stopping a burglary and the department plans to raise more awareness on the advantages of this free program to Roseville residents.

A volunteer-run organization, Citizens on Patrol provide vacation checks for residents. So while you’re enjoying a much-needed break out of town, volunteers check in on your house, on the lookout for suspicious activity.

“They are the eyes and ears of the community, looking for crimes all over town,” Drake said.

Regular citizens of all ages are choosing to protect their community during their spare time. Citizens on Patrol volunteers are trained in-house and additionally educated on vacation checks on an individual basis with a police officer.

And vacation checks are just one aspect of the job.

“Right now, handicap parking citations are big. They have special events, department tours, and even bike patrol where they make sure the bike trails are safe,” Drake said. “They all have very big hearts. They are trained by police officers to be Citizens on Patrol.”

The vacation check program lets homeowners go out of town and know that someone is watching over their house.

“It is an extra set of eyes and ears,” said Shelly Bracco from the Roseville Police Department. “You definitely should stop or cancel anything that is left on your driveway such as newspapers, tell your neighbors that you will be away and ask them to check your door for any fliers, and turn your lights on a timer.”

Volunteers go through an intensive background process very similar to a police officer. It takes between 6-8 weeks to process their application and they require fingerprints, a voice stress analyzer and a full background check.

The volunteer’s role is to check if anything seems suspicious and call Roseville Police if they discover anything.

“Volunteers in teams of two actually leave the car and check the premises of the house,” Bracco said. “Everything is on the application such as what car will be at the driveway or what pets are in the house or who may be visiting the house. Volunteers cannot get involved with any suspicious activity for safety reasons.”

The volunteers never enter your house and if you have an outdoor pet, they won’t enter the backyard. Citizens on Patrol make sure that windows are shut, doors are locked, the back gate is sealed properly, and that property seems undisturbed during vacation checks.

Retired volunteer Laura Wernli has been part of Citizens on Patrol for four years. Before she volunteered at Roseville, she was at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.

“I can choose my hours and it makes me feel good to know that peoples’ houses are OK,” Wernli said. “Vacation house check is a wonderful program for the community.”

Interested in having a police volunteer check on your house during vacation? Give them at least one-week notice. Applications are available at the Roseville Police Department or here.

By the numbers:

• Number of Roseville Police volunteers: 80 (30 pending)
• Number of volunteers trained to perform vacation house checks: 30 Citizens on Patrol
• Number of years vacation checks have been completed: 4
• Total number of vacation house checks completed: 86
• Number of vacation house checks done this year: 25

* Information provided by Traci Drake with the Roseville Police Department