What to Do Straight After a Burglary to Protect Your Home
Posted on: 27 May 2016
Burglary is an issue that can render many homeowners feeling quite helpless. It can be devastating, as a lot of valuable items might disappear, but also because it leaves your house in a vulnerable position. If the burglars have broken your locks to get into your home, you are risking a second break in right after the first one. In order to prevent this, there are some precautionary actions you can take yourself to make sure that your home is secure even during such a challenging scenario.
Locksmith
The first thing you need to do to protect your home from intruders after its security has been compromised once is to call a 24 hour locksmith. You need to get the locks replaced as soon as possible. This is also the case even if the burglars haven't broken your existing lock. There are burglars who only get the print from the lock in order to make new keys that they can use to break in a second time. However, if that is the case, you might do fine with a rekeying. Meaning the locksmith will change the lock so that the old key doesn't fit. If you suspect that the burglars also have gotten into your garage, you should also call your local car locksmith. The burglars might not have done anything to your car, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Temporary fixes
While you're waiting for the locksmith to show up, you should make some temporary repairs to all entrances to your home that might have gotten damaged. Put plywood on the inside of any broken windows and make sure that all broken glass is removed from inside your home to prevent anyone getting injured. If your door is broken, you should board that up as well. Use your backdoor as a temporary entrance. If you don't have a backdoor, maybe you can get in and out by using a window.
Invite your friends
As you're waiting for the locksmith and the police, you should ask your neighbours and friends to come join you in your house. Buy them food and offer them something to drink as they're helping you watch your house. Burglars that want to make a second attempt at a home should be deterred from it when they notice that there's a crowd present. Ask your friends to park their cars in front of the house so that potential burglars can be sure that there are a lot of people inside your house.
Share