If you are going out of town next week for our Thanksgiving vacation, here are some tips to keep your home and belongings safe while you are gone:

1.)    Do not post that you are going out of town on social media, and make sure that your siblings and parents do not as well. This is a HUGE cause to places being burglarized while the family is out of town. If your profiles are public or you have a lot of “friends” that aren’t really friends, the risk is significantly higher. If you post, turn off the location on your phone so it won’t say where you are.

2.)    Make sure all of your doors and windows are locked.

3.)    If you want to make the house appear occupied, leave a light or two on inside of the house, or even buy an electronic “candle” that flickers like a real candle, this is particularly effective.

4.)    Let neighbors you trust know you are out of town so that they can report any suspicious cars or people around your house.

5.)    Place your house on “Vacation Patrol” with your local police department. If you live within Tomball city limits, this can be done from our Tomball.gov website and is dispersed among the patrol division. This also provides a phone number for officers to call in case they see any suspicious activity while you are gone.

6.)    Lock all valuables and firearms up in a hidden place, not where a person may typically find them.

Information for this story came from Officer Chris Burns of the Tomball Police Department.