Your home should ideally be the safest place for you and your family. Unfortunately, home break-ins do happen. But there are some steps you can take if your home has been broken into.
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Below are 3 things to do after a break-in:
Call the Police
Are you thinking, “Should I turn to the police?” The answer is yes, and it is the first thing you should do. Calling the police and filing a report puts the incident on record, which is necessary for both insurance claims and if you ever want to potentially find the thief(s) and retrieve your belongings. If you are not in the house when you discover it has been robbed, do not go into your home to make the phone call.
Also do not touch anything in your home before the police arrive, as you may destroy key evidence the police need for finding and potentially prosecuting the burglar(s).
When the police arrive, make a complete list of all items that have been taken, including a thorough description and the approximate value of each. You may even want to draw pictures and include any unique identifying marks. Make an additional copy for your insurance company. If you saw anybody exit your residence, write down any descriptive information you can, including sex, age, race, clothing, identifiable marks, and the direction they went after leaving your home. Source: SafeWise
Call Your Insurance Company
Make preliminary contact with your insurance company to make them aware of the incident. Provide the date and time of the incident, and a preliminary summary of the crime. Mention any known injuries and damage to property. Your insurance company may schedule a visit by a claims adjuster, or provide other instructions for filing a claim. Source: TycoIS
Audit and Repair Security
- Assess damage
- Evaluate security shortcomings
- Strengthen precautionary measures
Since the greatest weapon against burglary is prevention, it’s now time to assess what went wrong and help prevent further intrusion in the future. In general, burglars take advantage of a handful of vulnerabilities in order to determine a target: knowledge of home contents, darkness, cover from foliage, faulty locks, accessible unlocked windows, and knowledge of your schedule. We won’t cover each element in-depth here, but it’s valuable to know that each of these items facilitates entry into your home. Assess the damage in your situation and determine what caused the breach. Did a lock break? Were your neighbors unable to see them because of lighting or cover from plants? Did they climb through your window or simply open a door carelessly left unlocked? Ask yourself these questions in order to gain an understanding of how to remedy the vulnerability in the future. Source: ProtectYourHome
We hope you will never be in a position to need this checklist, but reading it ahead of time will help you to know how to respond in this situation. If you want to know more about home security systems, contact us now!
Contact:
Mr. Locksmith Abbotsford
3275 Boundary Road,
Abbotsford, BC V3G 2T7
Phone: (604) 200-8622
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