Preventing crime during family travel starts with protecting your home while you're away. Make it look as if you never left by doing such things as:
- Activate your home alarm (if you have one).
- Have your grass mowed while you're gone.
- Keep shades and blinds in their normal positions
- Lock all of your doors and windows.
- Never leave lights on 24 hours a day.
- Put timers on several household lights so they turn on and off at appropriate times.
- Stop the mail and newspaper or ask a neighbor to pick them up every day.
- You might even leave a radio on - or put it on a timer. Ask a neighbor to park in your driveway overnight anything that might suggest someone is home.