Rialto Police To Offer Electronic Home Surveillance To Residents On Vacation

RIALTO (CBSLA.com) — Rialto police will soon implement a new electronic home surveillance program called "Safe House" to protect residents' personal property while they are away on vacation.

"It's an officer, pretty much like an invisible officer, there for us," Rialto police Det. David Padilla said.

Starting in May, residents leaving their homes for an extended period of time will be able to contact the Rialto Police Department and arrange for an officer to place a small tracking device on valuable items that are particularly attractive to burglars, such as electronics and safes.

The motion-sensitive device will activate as soon as the resident leaves the property and will set off a signal that sends a text message to both the resident and police if motion is detected.

If any of the property is stolen, officers can use tracking software on the device to locate the item, as well as the thief.

KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen reports that a computer system traces the movement of the tracking device through cellphone towers, and dispatchers can see it on a map in real-time.

"So we can see on a map where it's going, how fast it's going, and we can determine if someone's walking, if they're running or if they've just jumped in a vehicle or where they're going with the property that we want back," Emergency Dispatch Supervisor Angela Haddad said.

Resident Jean Sharp said burglaries are on the rise in the area. She said her grandchild's car was recently stolen from their driveway.

"People having their homes broken into...it has been more often than there used to," she said.

Sharp said the technology may prevent a crime and make criminals think twice.

"If you can deter something from happening, you don't have that worry of somebody coming into your home," she said.

Rialto residents wishing to take part in the program can contact Lt. Dean P. Hardin at (909) 820-2634 or email dhardin@rialtopd.com.