What To Do After A Break-in At Your Seattle Home?
It’s every resident’s nightmare. You return home and find your door has been kicked in or a window shattered. You can’t think clearly, stressing about what’s been stolen and the damage to your property. What will you do? Remain calm, take a deep breath, and follow these tips after a break-in at your Seattle home.
Once things are under control, see how to better prevent break-ins with a modern security system.
Initial Steps After A Break-In
Discovering your house has been broken into is traumatic. You could be angry, shaken, or simply in shock. Whatever the case, it’s important to stay level-headed by doing the following:
- Stay outside. It could be tempting to go inside to assess the situation. Don’t. There’s a chance someone is still on site.
- Contact the police immediately. Keep yourself and others safely away and wait until help gets there. Work with the authorities to file a report.
- Avoid touching anything. Let the police secure the premises and do their job.
What Should You Do Next?
You’ve completed a report with the police, and your home is clear to re-enter. What are the next steps?
- Cancel credit cards and notify your bank . If an intruder stole sensitive documents, purses, or wallets, you must contact your credit card companies and banks right away. It’s a good idea to lock accounts and your credit. You may also request a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus.
- Reach out to your insurance company. File a claim with your insurance company. This should be done within a day of the burglary.
- Take pictures of damage. Document smashed windows, forced doors, and any other damage you find.
- Inventory stolen goods. Write down what’s gone and provide it to law enforcement and your Insurer.
- Secure your house. Make your home safe again by replacing locks, fixing windows and doors, and taking care of other damage. If you utilize a keypad lock, now is the time to change your access codes.
Getting your home back in order will help ease your mind and make things feel normal. Once you do, it’s time to consider enhancing your home security.
Evaluate And Upgrade The Security At Your Seattle Home
How can you keep this from happening again? Your initial step should be to take stock of your home’s security. A modern system with these tools will work wonders in better protecting your home:
- Video cameras: Nearly every trespasser will hesitate when they notice security cameras. Newer exterior and doorbell cameras provide advanced functionality like AI-driven smart detection. Whenever there’s suspicious activity, you’ll get an alert.
- Access-point sensors: All doors and windows (particularly those on the ground level) should be safeguarded by contact or glass-break sensors.
- Smart locks and lighting: These automated components can be controlled from anywhere. Worried you neglected to secure your door? You can confirm and engage the lock from your mobile device. You can even have interior lighting turn on if a camera discovers someone lurking.
If you want an integrated system that notifies you and monitoring representatives whenever a sensor or camera is tripped, look into a package from ADT, your home security experts. You’ll benefit from smartphone access, 24/7 monitoring, and advanced automation.
Prevent Break-Ins With The Best Home Security In Seattle
Stop break-ins at your property with an ADT home security system in Seattle from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As your authorized ADT dealer, we install modern equipment from the industry leader. Discover your options by calling (206) 451-1051 or filling out our form today.