Home Security Audit Guide

Going Away on Vacation?

Your home is most vulnerable when you are away for an extended period of time.

Be sure to practice good crime prevention techniques so the house you come back to is as safe as you left it.

Have someone you trust check your home and pick up your mail and papers while you’re away on vacation. Tell that person when you are leaving and when you will be back. If you decide to come home early or stay away longer, make sure they know.

For a small fee, you can have the Post Office to hold your mail until you return from vacation. You should also know whether your home insurance policy has limits for the length of time your home can be vacant.

A lived-in look will give an outsider the impression that someone’s at home. While you are away, have:

• The driveway shovelled in the winter and your grass cut in the summer.
• Lights on timers that would normally reflect your daily activity.
• A neighbour park a car in your driveway.
• A neighbour put some of their garbage at the end of your driveway on garbage day.

Making arrangements to have these normal daily routines continue while you are on vacation will give a potential burglar the impression that someone is at home.