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It’s every resident’s nightmare. You arrive home and find your door is wide open or a window shattered. You can barely process what’s happened, fretting about what’s missing and the damage to your home. What can you do? Stay calm, take a breath, and follow our recommendations after a break-in at your Columbus home.  

Once the dust settles, explore how to better prevent break-ins with the latest home security system.

Immediate Steps After A Break-In

Discovering your house has been burglarized is traumatic. You might be furious, frightened, or simply in shock. Regardless, it’s essential to respond rationally by doing the following: 

• Do not enter. It’s not surprising that you want to rush inside to look around. Don’t. There’s a risk a burglar is still present.
• Contact law enforcement right away.  Keep yourself and loved ones at a safe distance and wait until help arrives. Work with the authorities to make an official report. 
• Avoid touching anything. Let the police secure the scene and gather evidence.  

What Are The Next Steps?

You’ve completed a report with law enforcement, and your home is safe to re-enter. What should happen next? 

• Cancel credit cards and call banks . If a thief grabbed purses, wallets, or sensitive documents, you’ll want to alert your credit card companies and banks at once. It’s wise to lock accounts and your credit. You may also request a fraud alert with the three main credit bureaus.
• Call your insurer. Start the claims process with your insurance company. This needs to be done within 24 hours of the burglary. 
• Take pictures of damage. Document smashed windows, forced doors, and anything else that’s been damaged.
• Document what was taken. Make a list of what’s gone and provide it to the police and your insurance company.
• Secure your house. Get your home secured by installing new locks, fixing windows and doors, and addressing remaining damage. If you have a keypad lock, now is the time to reset your access codes.

Cleaning up will bring you some peace and restore a sense of normalcy. After you’re done, it’s time to start thinking improving your home security.

Strengthen The Security At Your Columbus Home

How can you keep this from happening again? Your initial step should be to assess your home’s security. A new system with these tools will go a long way to strengthening your home’s protection: 

• Video cameras: Nearly all would-be burglars will reconsider their plans when they notice video cameras. Today’s exterior and doorbell cameras provide advanced features like AI-powered smart detection. Whenever there’s questionable activity, you’ll receive a notification. 
• Access-point sensors: All doors and windows (particularly those on the lower level) should be protected by contact or glass-break sensors.
• Smart lights and locks: These automated components can be operated from anywhere. Concerned you neglected to lock your door? You can confirm and engage the lock from your phone. You can even have inside lighting turn on if a camera detects suspicious activity.

If you are looking for an integrated system that warns you and monitoring staff any time a device is set off, look into a package from the home security leaders at ADT. You’ll benefit from remote access, round-the-clock monitoring, and custom automation.

Avoid Break-Ins With The Best Home Security In Columbus

Stop break-ins from happening with an ADT home security package in Columbus from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As your authorized ADT dealer, we install the latest equipment from the industry leader. Learn more about your options by reaching out to (614) 368-9896 or filling out our form today.