Your home is your sanctuary and the place you should feel safe and at ease. But if your once safe family home has been broken into, this security can quickly cease to exist. You will feel scared, vulnerable and upset that a stranger has invaded your home and taken your belongings. But no matter how distraught you are to discover your home has been broken into, you need to regain control. Many homeowners are unsure what to do in this situation. So here is a useful checklist of important things you need to do after a home break-in.
1. Call the police. The first thing you need to do before anything else is call the cops. While it might be tempting to start tidying up straight away, leave everything as it is and ring them straight away. The burglar could have left finger prints or foot prints inside your home that the police could use to catch them. If the burglary has only just happened, the burglar will not have been able to get far. So if they police are called immediately it increases the chances of them being caught considerably. The longer you wait, the more time they have to get away and for vital evidence to be lost.
2. Take photographs. Taking photos of the crime scene will be beneficial for police reports and insurance claims you make. So as difficult as it may be, take as many pictures as possible on your phone or digital camera and use this as evidence. Concentrate on areas which visibly show damage and where the burglar entered and exited your property. Also, take photos of prominent areas where your possessions are missing. Also, use this as an opportunity to start listing all of the items that have been stolen. This will be beneficial again for both the police and insurance companies and make it easier for them to help you. Also, start looking through your photographs for pictures of your missing items. This will act as additional evidence to support your case.
3. Improve your home’s security. The best way of making you and your family feel safe in your home after a break-in is by boosting your security measures. The easiest way of doing this is by looking at your home from the perspective of a burglar. This should identify your weak points and help you make necessary security improvements to your home. You might need to fit outdoor lighting, have more appropriate locking systems or buy a safe for your belongings. You can visit sites like Security Advisor Today for security camera reviews. Or talk to a security alarms expert about installation. It will also be useful to get educated on how to protect your home when you’re on vacation and how to make your home less appealing to burglars. This should all work towards making sure this never happens again.
So if in the future you experience a break-in at your home, you now know exactly which steps to take. The sooner you act, the higher the possibility of the authorities catching the culprit and returning your possessions to you.