House Watch Program

VACATION HOUSE WATCH APPLICATION

Program

Residences that are left vacant when the owners are out of town are prime targets for burglaries and vandalism. In an effort to reduce these threats, the Royse City Police Department provides a Vacation House Watch program that provides increased patrol for those residents within the city limits of Royse city who are away from home. 

While the residence is on Vacation House Watch, officers will check the location to ensure the house and premises are secure. However, the Royse City Police Department cannot guarantee your residence will be checked at specific times or dates, but every effort will be made to check on your residence as time and workload allow. Officers will investigate any suspicious circumstances found during a check.

Eligibility

Any single family residence located within the city limits of Royse City and is currently permanently occupied is normally eligible for Vacation House Watch service. Circumstances that are NOT eligible are as follows:

• Vacant or otherwise uninhabited residences, such as houses under foreclosure, for rent, for lease, or for sale
• Apartments and businesses 
• When people are staying overnight at the residence
• When people are taking care of plants, pets, pools, etc. later than 7:00 PM

(See Special Circumstance below for variances.)

Length of Service

Vacation House Watch service will be provided for residents who will be away for at least 3 days, but not more than 14 days. Residents will be eligible for Vacation House Watch service twice in any calendar year. Additional requests during a calendar year may be approved on a case by case basis. 

Request for Service

Residents must request Vacation House Watch service in person at the Police Department. Residents need to complete the Vacation House Watch application and display a government issued picture identification card when they come to the Police Department to drop off the form. This may be waived for senior or disabled citizens, who may request the service by telephone. When needed, Police Department personnel can assist people completing the Vacation House Watch request form and obtain identification from the requesting person. If services are requested over the telephone by a senior or disabled citizen, a police officer will respond to the residence to verify the information. 

Officer Responsibility

Officers will ensure that each Vacation House Watch request in their district is checked for obvious signs of criminal activity or suspicious circumstances and take appropriate action. The officers checking the house will complete a call sheet when they check on the house and make any needed notes. The Vacation House Watch requests are available to the district's officer(s) so that they may be completed during their shift. At the completion of the Vacation House Watch, the homeowner may request the dates, times, and Officer(s) who checked the residence. 

Special Circumstances

Residents may have arrangements made with friends, neighbors, relatives, or certain companies to come by and feed/water pets or plants, pick up mail, clean a pool, mow the yard, house-sitters, and/or maid services to name a few. To participate in this program, you, the homeowner, MUST notify anyone you authorize to attend to their duties and assignments between the hours of 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

You MUST indicate in the section under Authorized Persons On Location the person's name (if known), company, and their reason for being on location. When any of these blocks are checked, we will generally NOT check the home during daylight hours between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM. We will check it once, sometime during the night hours between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM. Remember that if you authorize anyone to be on the location between the hours 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM for any reason, you are not eligible to participate in this program.