Having your home burglarized can one of the most invasive and worrying things to have happened to us as individuals, the sense that someone has been in your home going through your things gives a horrible sense of dread that is difficult to compare to other things. No matter how you feel emotionally there are a few things you need to ensure you take care of following a break-in.
Don’t Touch Anything
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, it’s important not to touch anything, tidy up and especially not to clean the place as until the police arrive as the less a crime scene is disturbed the more likely the police can gather forensic evidence to aid their investigation.
Call The Police
As soon as you discover the event you should call the police and wait for them to arrive. Give a full and detailed statement as far as you know what has happened. If you have any security cameras then it is a good idea to have the footage ready and available for the police to view as early as possible. You will also need to make as full a list as possible as to what has been taken so that the police can identify your items if they find them to have been sold or are up for sale, you may not notice everything at first but that’s OK you can always update them later.
Get Any Repairs Completed
Once the police have completed their assessment of the scene and have taken all the evidence that they can find they will turn it back over to you. The first thing to do is take care of any repairs that are needed, the obvious thing to secure is the point of entry that the criminals used to enter, classic examples are broken doors and windows, especially weaker areas such as adjoining garages, so it’s important to get good secure garage door repair.
Talk To Your Neighbours
It’s a good idea to share everything that has happened with your neighbors as they could potentially be targets as well and the more they can know about how the gang entered your property then it can help them, hopefully, to guard and prepare against it happening to them as well. They may well also have some info on any suspicious activity that has been going on in the lead up to your break-in.
Look At Extra Security
You’ll definitely be wanting to asses your home security and see where any improvements may be made. Any good home security expert will tell you that a professional burglar will be able to gain entry into most homes if they are determined enough, but that also they are not looking for a challenge, they will take the least protected and therefore, easiest house in the street. So what is key is to make your home protected enough that they will move on and look for a softer target. So take precautions such as alarms, CCTV, motion sensors as well as security doors and gates and this should give you a much lesser chance of a subsequent break-in.
