If you’re planning to go out of town during the holidays, it helps to make sure your home is secure; and Knoxville Police Chief Dan Losada says his department will be glad to help out.

Naturally you should make sure your doors and windows are locked, and if you have a burglar alarm it should be turned on and properly set.

And Chief Losada tells KNIA/KRLS News his officers will be glad to cruise by your home every now and then to check on things, if you ask them to do so.

“People are welcome to call in, we call them vacation checks; if you’re going to be out of the area, call in to the police station, give us certain pieces of information including how to get a hold of you if we have an issue,” Losada says. “When you’re leaving, when you’re gonna be back, if you’re leaving lights on, those kind of things. And we’ll keep an extra eye on the place; we’ll try to drive by it a couple extra times.”

He also recommends you have family members, friends or neighbors occasionally go past and make sure everything is safe.