Been Burgled? Here are 10 Quick Steps to Take
Although nobody ever wants this to happen to them, the truth is that we are all unfortunately likely to experience something of this kind at some point or another. The important thing is to know what to do when you have been burgled. Let’s look at ten important steps you should take in that circumstance, and how you can potentially prevent a break-in in the first place.
First thing's first...
1. Don’t Touch Anything
Believe it or not, this is one of the most important steps of all. You want to make it as easy for the police as possible to do their job and find the person or people responsible, and that means not touching anything at all.
2. Call The Police
Straight away, you should call the police. The sooner they can come out to your home, the sooner you can get your life back to normal. They should come over pretty fast, and you will then need to tell them everything that you know about what happened.
3. Take Photos
It’s important that you try to collate as much evidence as you can. This will help you in supplying information to your insurer, if that is applicable to you, and in helping you if you go to court to take action against those responsible.
4. Fix Any Obvious Breakages
Many break-ins are caused by the breaking of a window or some other vulnerable part of the house. Once you have taken photos and the police have come round, you should then move on to fixing those things as soon as possible.
5. Review CCTV Footage
If you have CCTV installed at your home or on the premises, you should now review the tapes to see whether you can discern anything of the perpetrator. In any case, this is important evidence and should be passed on to the police.
6. Tell Those Affected That They Have Been Burgled
If the break-in happened in the home, you must tell everyone who lives there and those who regularly visit, so everyone knows. If it is the workplace, communicate internally to all of your employees.
7. List What’s Been Stolen
If you can, try to make a list of everything that you believe has been stolen. It might be hard to remember everything or to spot it all, but the sooner you get on to this the more likely it is that you can start to recuperate for those losses after you have been burgled.
8. Investigate The Cause
For some reason or another, the person who burgled you found a way to enter your premises that they felt was worth the risk. So you now need to investigate and determine why that was, so that you can start to look into improving things for the future.
9. Contact Insurance
Get in touch with your insurer and start to make your claim. It can take a while to go through.
10. Cancel Cards
If you suspect that you might have had credit or debit cards stolen, you should cancel them as soon as possible.
As long as you do those ten things, you are giving the police the best chance to recover any stolen goods and making sure the insurance company gives you all the assistance they can to get you back on your feet again. It needn't come to this though, by using a security system at home or in your business you are actively deterring criminals from attacking your premises. This is something we at MAC security can help with. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!