Source: KY3 NEWS
Ozark, Mo. — The holiday is right around the corner and families are traveling to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones.
“Thefts tend to pick up,” Ozark Police Chief Tim Clothier said.
In Ozark, if you’re leaving your home for the holiday you can be put on an extra patrol list.
Ozark police officers will put you on a watch list on their patrol route and spend extra time at your home address.
“We’ll ask questions like how long do you expect to be gone, when will you get back, are there any keyholders locally in case we do have a problem, how many lights are on at the house, how many cars are in the driveway, and we keep a periodic check on the house during the hours of darkness,” Clothier said.
You could also request an officer to come evaluate your home.
“The officer can go out to their house,” Clothier said. “It doesn’t make the home burglary proof or theft proof, but it does give them some guidance and direction, he’s certified to give direction on what you can do to lessen being a victim of crime.”
“Our ultimate goal is to prevent crime, it’s much easier to prevent crime rather than try to solve the crime after it occurs,” Clothier said. “So we offer this service to try and reduce the possibility of our victims falling victim to crime.”
It’s never too late to have an officer come check your home.
“We work 24/7 365 days a year so if they call we will check their house,” Clothier said.
Home evaluations have been so popular the Ozark Police Department is sending another officer to receive this specialty training.
If you want to set up a home evaluation before you leave you can contact Officer Schwartz at c.schwartz@ozarkpd.org