Nobody wants to arrive home or at the office to find a broken window or other sign of a break-in. Unfortunately, burglaries take place every day, and while you may hope it never happens to you, if it does, it’s important to know how to respond. Here are the five steps you should take if your home or business gets burglarized.
1. Call the police. Before you do anything else, call the local authorities. Don’t go into the building, as the burglars may still be inside, or you may accidentally destroy evidence that the police need to catch the thieves. Instead, wait for help to arrive in your car or somewhere nearby. If you have video surveillance of the area, be sure to share the footage with the local authorities.
2. List what’s missing. Once you’ve been cleared to go into the building, it’s time to take stock of what’s been taken. Compile a detailed list of everything that’s missing. Try to find any receipts or other types of proof of ownership for the furniture and equipment that was taken.
If necessary, have your family members or employees go through their rooms, offices or desks and take note of what they’re missing. Don’t forget to take photos of any damage to the walls, doors, windows or furniture.
3. Call your insurance provider. Once you’ve obtained a police report number and made your list of missing items, call your insurance company to file a claim.
4. Clean up and make repairs. Call a repair company to fix any broken windows and doors. You may need to temporarily cover these with plastic or wooden boards while you wait for service. You should also clean up the mess left behind by the burglars.
5. Improve your security system. Take note of where the burglars entered the building and any other weaknesses in your monitoring and security systems. You may also want to install outdoor security cameras or an indoor CCTV system for your business, or connect your home alarm to a monitoring service.
A reputable security provider for homes and business
Guardian Security Solutions is your top choice for residential and business security systems and monitoring in Calgary and Lethbridge. We’ve served Western Canada for nearly 15 years and to date have had over 60,000 clients. Call us today to find out more about our services.