If you eve return home and notice signs of a burglar: a broken window or a door ajar – do not enter your house or apartment alone. Call the police from a neighbor’s house and wait, or sit in your car and use your cell phone.
If you are already in side when you discover there has been a break-in, don’t touch anything: you may destroy the one fingerprint that could be used as evidence. You should call the police; chances are the burglar didn’t use your phone.
While you wait for the police, make a preliminary inventory of things you can see that are missing. Don’t open drawers or shuffle thru closets (remember those fingerprints), but note if they look as though they have been disturbed. Let the police know if you can provide them with serial numbers and photographs of stolen property, if you have them.
After the police leave arrange to have any broken windows or locks fixed. Make sure your inventory of missing items is complete and use it together with a police report to inform your insurance company. Try to assemble documentation for major items: receipts, invoices, jewelry, appraisals, warranties and photographs.
The first day, as well as for some time after, expect to feel violated. Talking about the break-in with friends and neighbors can help you ventilate your feelings and alert them to be on the lookout for unfamiliar people or cars in the area. Many people have trouble sleeping, knowing that a thief has been their house, and probably their bedroom as that is where money and jewelry are often kept.
The best cure for a burglary, of course, is prevention. Take pictures of your home, especially valuable items and those that are important to you. Keep a file, paper or digital or both, of receipt and serial numbers for insurance purposes, too. Consider video surveillance and trail cams with a bit of recording options.
Alpha Locksmith can help with suggestions from a locksmith point of view. For more information on keeping burglars out of your home, just give us a call at 63-489-3622.