It’s every homeowner’s nightmare. You arrive home after a day at work and pull up in your driveway. As you unlock your front door and step inside, a horrible scene greets you: drawers pulled out, items tossed on the floor, and glass everywhere — your home has been burglarized.
Apart from the financial impact, you’ll also be dealing with the emotional impact and vulnerability of knowing that a stranger entered your home. Knowing what to do after you’ve been robbed can help you recover more quickly. It can also prevent your home from being broken into again.
Inside the Mind of a Burglar
It’s a common myth that burglars like to strike in the dead of night when homeowners are sleeping. In fact, burglars usually prefer to strike when they don’t run the risk of someone being home. Because of this, a whopping 65% of burglaries take place between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., when most homeowners are away at work.
When burglars do make their move, they typically don’t spend a lot of time inside a home. They’re usually in and out in less than 10 minutes. The master bedroom will be their first stop, as it’s the best place to find pricey items like jewelry, collectibles, guns, safes that could potentially be breached, and cash. After that, they’ll take a tour through the home office and living room to pocket any computer, gaming, or electronic equipment that looks tempting.
Burglars are happy to enter through your front door, but they’ll also use a back door or first-floor window. They typically decide which access point to use based on ease of entry and conspicuousness.
According to a report published by the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 60 percent of convicted burglars said that they were typically deterred by the presence of a security system.
Knowing What To Do After You’ve Been Robbed
If you’ve been the victim of a burglary, it’s important to take action as soon as you realize what has happened. First, contact law enforcement. They’ll be able to review the scene for possible evidence, talk to neighbors to see if they witnessed anything, and look for potential suspects. They’ll also start the search for your stolen items in an effort to recover them. You’ll also want to contact your insurance company in order to file a claim.
Once the investigation is underway and the claims have been filed, it’s time to get down to the business of protecting your home against future invasion. Install jams on all first-floor windows and doors and make sure that all of your entry doors have deadbolts. To ensure that burglars aren’t able to lurk totally obscured, keep all of your landscaping trimmed back to provide a clear view of doors and windows.
The next step seems obvious, but it’s one that many homeowners often neglect: always lock all of your doors and windows. Even when you’re at home, keep your doors locked. Countless burglaries have taken place with a thief slipping in through an opened or unlocked back door and grabbing a purse off a kitchen counter. Just because burglars don’t like to enter a home when it’s occupied doesn’t mean that they won’t.
Get the Ultimate Protection With a Home Security System
As mentioned above, well over half of convicted thieves that were interviewed found a home security system to be a deterrent. Not only is a security system discouraging to thieves, but having one that’s monitored means that if a burglar does target your home, the authorities will be alerted the minute he sets foot inside.
Today’s security systems aren’t the passive ones from years ago, either. The installation of security cameras allows you actively protect your home by logging into a live video feed from anywhere. If something seems amiss, you can contact police to check things out.
Whether you’ve been the victim of a burglary or hope to prevent your home from becoming a target, the strategy is simple: think like a burglar, work to make your home less accessible to them, and install a home security system. This way, the next time a thief is casing houses, they’ll see yours and keep on moving past.
At ProTech Security, we have a strong history of experience, innovation, and customer service. The ProTech Security Advantage is more than 30 years of service in Northeast Ohio and a strong commitment to providing quality, cost-effective protection for homes, businesses, educational institutions and government facilities. To see what ProTech Security can do for you, contact us today.
