What To Do After A Break-in At Your Bakersfield Home?
It’s every family’s nightmare. You arrive home to see your door has been forced open or a window smashed. You can’t think straight, stressing about what’s been stolen and the harm done to your property. What will you do? Remain calm, take a deep breath, and follow these steps after a break-in at your Bakersfield home.
When you’re ready, learn how to better prevent intrusions with an advanced security system.
First Steps After A Break-In
Seeing your house burglarized is traumatizing. You may be furious, shaken, or simply in shock. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s critical to act rationally by doing the following:
- Don’t go inside. It might be tempting to rush inside to assess the situation. Don’t. There’s a possibility someone is still inside.
- Contact law enforcement right away. Keep yourself and family members safely away and wait for first responders. Work with law enforcement to make an official report.
- Leave everything as is. Allow officers take control and gather evidence.
What Should You Do Next?
You’ve spoken with the authorities, and your home is clear to re-enter. What are the next steps?
- Notify your bank and credit card companies . If an intruder snagged wallets, purses, or sensitive information, you’ll wish to notify your credit card issuers and banks immediately. It’s wise to put a hold on accounts and your credit. You might also place a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus.
- Call your insurer. Start the claims process with your insurer. This needs to be done within a day of the incident.
- Record damage on camera. Document smashed windows, forced doors, and anything else that’s been damaged.
- Document what is missing. Make a list of what’s missing and provide it to the authorities and your insurance company.
- Secure your home. Restore your home’s security by installing new locks, fixing doors and windows, and repairing other damage. If you utilize a keypad lock system, now is the time to update your codes.
Tidying up will bring you some peace and restore a sense of normalcy. Once you do, it’s time to think about upgrading your home security.
Assess And Improve Your Bakersfield Home’s Security
What can you do to prevent another break-in from taking place? Your starting point should be to take stock of your home’s security. A new system with the following equipment will go a long way to keeping your home safe:
- Security cameras: Just about all prowlers will hesitate when they see surveillance cameras. Newer outdoor and doorbell cameras give you advanced functionality like AI-powered smart detection. Any time there’s questionable activity, you’ll get a notification.
- Access-point sensors: All doors and windows (particularly those on the ground level) should be shielded by contact or glass-break sensors.
- Smart locks and lights: These automated tools can be managed remotely. Worried you forgot to lock your door? You can verify and activate the lock directly from your mobile device. You can even have interior lighting switch on if a camera detects suspicious activity.
If you are searching for a connected system that alerts you and monitoring representatives whenever a device is tripped, get a package from the home security specialists at ADT. You’ll enjoy the smartphone access, 24-hour monitoring, and custom automation.
Avoid Break-Ins With The Top Home Security Systems In Bakersfield
Stop burglaries before they happen with an ADT home security system in Bakersfield from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As your trusted ADT dealer, we install the latest equipment from the industry leader. Explore your options by reaching out to (661) 231-6886 or submitting our form today.