What To Do After A Break-in At Your Chico Home?
It’s every family’s nightmare. You return home and find your door is wide open or a window smashed. You can’t think clearly, fretting about what’s missing and the harm done to your house. What should you do? Stay calm, take a breath, and follow these tips after a break-in at your Chico home.
Once you have control of the situation, explore how to better prevent burglaries with an advanced security system.
First Steps After A Break-In
Finding your house has been broken into is traumatizing. You may be scared, furious, or just in disbelief. Whatever the case, it’s important to act rationally by doing the following:
- Do not enter. It could be tempting to go inside to assess the situation. Don’t. There’s a chance someone is still inside.
- Contact the police at once. Keep yourself and loved ones safely away and wait for first responders. Work with the authorities to file a report.
- Avoid touching anything. Allow officers take charge and gather evidence.
What Are The Next Steps?
You’ve made an official report with the authorities, and your home is safe to re-enter. What should happen next?
- Cancel credit cards and call banks . If a burglar stole sensitive documents, purses, or wallets, you’ll want to contact your credit card companies and banks at once. It’s wise to put a hold on accounts and your credit. You may also place a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus.
- Call your insurance company. Initiate a claim with your insurance provider. You should do so within 24 hours of the incident.
- Take pictures of damage. Document smashed windows, kicked-in doors, and any other damage you see.
- Document what is missing. Create a record of what’s missing and provide it to law enforcement and your insurance company.
- Secure your house. Get your home secured by switching out locks, fixing doors and windows, and addressing remaining damage. If you use a keypad lock, now is the time to reset your codes.
Cleaning up will help ease your mind and make things feel normal. Once you do, it’s time to start thinking upgrading your home security.
Strengthen The Security At Your Chico Home
What should you do to prevent another burglary from occurring? Your initial step should be to evaluate your home’s security. An advanced system with these tools will work wonders in keeping your home safe:
- Video cameras: Nearly every prowler will hesitate when they observe surveillance cameras. Today’s outdoor and doorbell cameras offer advanced functionality like AI-driven smart detection. When there’s questionable activity, you’ll be sent a notification.
- Entry-point sensors: All doors and windows (particularly those on the lower level) should be shielded by glass-break or contact sensors.
- Smart locks and lighting: These automated devices can be managed remotely. Concerned you didn’t lock your door? You can confirm and activate the lock right from your phone. You can even have interior lighting switch on if a camera detects an unwanted guest.
If you are looking for an integrated system that alerts you and monitoring representatives whenever a camera or sensor is triggered, get a package from the home security specialists at ADT. You’ll benefit from smartphone access, round-the-clock monitoring, and advanced automation.
Prevent Break-Ins With The Leading Home Security Systems In Chico
Stop burglaries at your property with an ADT home security package in Chico from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As an authorized ADT dealer, we install the latest equipment from the top name in the business. Learn more about your options by calling (530) 205-3977 or filling out our form today.