Cottage Watch

Background
Cottage break and enters, damage and theft are serious concerns impacting police, cottagers, cottagers’ associations and insurance companies.

FOCA and the OPP created a partnership to develop a provincial Cottage Watch network to support the crime prevention efforts of all cottagers’ associations.

The objectives of the Cottage Watch program are to:

1.    Involve cottage associations in self-help crime prevention and fire safety.
2.    Organize cottage association members into effective cottage watch groups.
3.    Improve communications between seasonal property owners, the OPP and other policing authorities.
4.    Reduce the incidence of theft, damage, and break-ins.
5.    Assist the police in crime prevention and detection.
6.    Promote fire safety for rural properties, and the use of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in cottage properties.
7.    Promote the use of engravers and property identification measures to help solve crimes.
8.    Publicize the program and its successes.