What To Do After A Break-in At Your York Home?
It’s every family’s nightmare. You return home and find your front door has been forced open or a window broken. You can barely process what’s happened, stressing about what’s been taken and the harm done to your home. What will you do? Stay calm, take a breath, and follow these steps after a break-in at your York home.
Once you have control of the situation, see how to better prevent burglaries with a modern security system.
Immediate Steps After A Break-In
Discovering your house has been broken into is traumatic. You might be scared, angry, or just in shock. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s essential to act rationally by doing the following:
- Stay outside. It’s only natural that you want to rush inside to look around. Don’t. There’s a chance an intruder is still there.
- Call the police right away. Keep yourself and family members at a safe spot nearby and wait until help gets there. Work with the police to make an official report.
- Leave everything as is. Let the police secure the area and collect evidence.
What Do You Do Next?
You’ve made an official report with law enforcement, and your home is safe to re-enter. What should you do next?
- Alert your bank and credit card issuers . If an intruder grabbed wallets, purses, or personal records, you’ll want to notify your credit card issuers and banks immediately. It’s a good idea to put a hold on accounts and your credit. You might also request a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus.
- Contact your insurance company. Initiate a claim with your insurance provider. This should be done within 24 hours of the burglary.
- Take photos of the damage. Document broken windows, kicked-in doors, and all other detectable damage.
- Document what is missing. Write down what’s missing and provide it to law enforcement and your Insurer.
- Secure your home. Restore your home’s security by installing new locks, fixing doors and windows, and repairing other damage. If you have a keypad lock, now is the time to update your access codes.
Getting your home back in order will bring you some peace and restore a sense of normalcy. Once you do, it’s time to start thinking improving your home security.
Evaluate And Upgrade Your York Home’s Security
What should you do to prevent another intrusion from happening? Your initial step should be to evaluate your home security. A modern system with these tools will go a long way to strengthening your home’s protection:
- Security cameras: Nearly all prowlers will reconsider their plans when they see security cameras. Newer outdoor and doorbell cameras offer advanced capabilities like AI-powered smart detection. Whenever there’s suspicious activity, you’ll receive an alert.
- Entry-point sensors: All doors and windows (specifically those on the ground floor) should be protected by glass-break or contact sensors.
- Smart locks and lights: These automated devices can be controlled from anywhere. Worried you forgot to secure your door? You can check and engage the lock from your mobile device. You can even have inside lights go on if a camera discovers suspicious activity.
If you want a modern system that warns you and monitoring staff whenever a camera or sensor is triggered, look into a package from ADT, your home security experts. You’ll enjoy the remote access, round-the-clock monitoring, and convenient automation.
Prevent Break-Ins With The Best Home Security In York
Stop burglaries before they happen with an ADT home security system in York from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As an authorized ADT dealer, we install modern equipment from the industry leader. Learn more about your options by dialing (717) 256-1592 or completing our form today.