The St. Joseph Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit is urging residents to take preventative measures and utilize police services to protect their home.

Sgt. Roy Hoskins recommends signing up with the St. Joseph Police Department’s residence watch program prior to going on vacation this summer.

“An officer will go by and get out and physically check your house a minimum of once a day when you’re gone,” Hoskins said.

(Click Here for the watch residence/business online application provided by the St. Joseph Police Department.) Hoskins said he is also available to check out residential properties to suggest security improvements.

“I would be glad to come by to any residence or business and look it over and let you know where you might be able to improve in your security.  Whether it’s with camera or lighting, things like that,” Hoskins said.

He said the cost for personal home surveillance systems have come down dramatically in recent years.

“For as little as a couple of hundred dollars and all the way up to whatever you want to spend you can get a system that you run through your router wirelessly. You don’t have to run any hard wires at all.  They have some that are color, black and white, infrared, night-vision, all kinds of different things,” Hoskins said. “You can get them where they will signal your phone if there’s a problem. Some just let you know that there’s a motion sensor that’s been tripped, some actually hook into a camera and you can see what’s in your house and that allows you to call us immediately.”

Police Chief Chris Connally said for the first six months of 2017 burglaries were down 5 percent in St. Joseph from 2016.  Burglaries in 2016 were also lower than 2015.  Connally attributes the decrease in burglaries, in part to an increase in crime prevention efforts.

For more information on securing a residence contact Hoskins in the Crime Prevention Department at (816) 236-1473.