What To Do After A Break-in At Your Port St. Lucie Home?
It’s every family’s nightmare. You arrive home and find your front door has been kicked in or a window shattered. You can barely process what’s happened, worrying about what’s missing and the damage to your property. What will you do? Remain calm, take a deep breath, and follow these steps after a break-in at your Port St. Lucie home.
Once you have control of the situation, explore how to better prevent break-ins with the latest home security system.
Immediate Steps After A Burglary
Seeing your house burglarized is traumatizing. You could be furious, frightened, or simply in shock. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s important to respond rationally by doing the following:
- Stay outside. It might be tempting to go inside to look around. Don’t. There’s a possibility a burglar is still there.
- Call the police right away. Keep yourself and family members safely away and wait for first responders. Work with law enforcement to file a report.
- Avoid touching anything. Let officers take over and gather evidence.
What Do You Do Next?
You’ve made an official report with the authorities, and your home is safe to re-enter. What should happen next?
- Notify your bank and credit card issuers . If a burglar grabbed sensitive documents, purses, or wallets, you’ll want to notify your credit card issuers and banks right away. It’s smart to put a hold on accounts and your credit. You can also request a fraud alert with the three main credit bureaus.
- Contact your insurer. Start the claims process with your insurance provider. You should do so within a day of the incident.
- Record damage on camera. Document shattered windows, kicked-in doors, and all other detectable damage.
- Inventory stolen goods. Create a record of what’s gone and provide it to the authorities and your insurance company.
- Secure your home. Make your home safe again by switching out locks, fixing doors and windows, and addressing remaining damage. If you have a keypad lock system, now is the time to reset your access codes.
Cleaning up will do wonders for your stress and make things feel normal. Once you do, it’s time to start thinking improving your home security.
Assess And Improve The Security At Your Port St. Lucie Home
How can you keep this from happening again? Your initial step should be to take stock of your home security. A modern system with the following equipment will work wonders in keeping your home safe:
- Surveillance cameras: Nearly every trespasser will reconsider their plans when they see security cameras. Newer exterior and doorbell cameras provide advanced capabilities like smart detection. Any time there’s unusual activity, you’ll receive an alert.
- Entry-point sensors: All doors and windows (especially those on the ground floor) should be shielded by contact or glass-break sensors.
- Smart locks and lighting: These automated devices can be managed remotely. Concerned you neglected to lock your door? You can check and engage the lock directly from your smartphone. You can even have inside lighting turn on if a camera spots suspicious activity.
If you are searching for a modern system that alerts you and monitoring staff whenever a sensor or camera is triggered, get a package from the home security leaders at ADT. You’ll enjoy the smartphone access, round-the-clock monitoring, and advanced automation.
Avoid Break-Ins With The Best Home Security In Port St. Lucie
Stop burglaries from happening with an ADT home security package in Port St. Lucie from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As your trusted ADT dealer, we install modern equipment from the industry leader. Learn more about your options by reaching out to (772) 237-3604 or filling out our form today.