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It’s every resident’s nightmare. You arrive home and find your door has been forced open or a window shattered. You can hardly process what’s happened, stressing about what’s been stolen and the damage to your property. What can you do? Remain calm, take a deep breath, and follow our recommendations after a break-in at your Riverside home.  

When things get back to normal, learn how to better prevent break-ins with an advanced security system.

Initial Steps After A Burglary

Seeing your house burglarized is traumatizing. You might be scared, angry, or simply in shock. Regardless, it’s essential to respond rationally by doing the following: 

• Don’t go inside. It could be tempting to go inside to see what happened. Don’t. There’s a risk a burglar is still there.
• Contact law enforcement right away.  Keep yourself and loved ones at a safe spot nearby and wait for emergency services. Work with law enforcement to file a report. 
• Don’t touch a thing. Let the police secure the scene and collect evidence.  

What Should You Do Next?

You’ve completed a report with the police, and your home is clear to re-enter. What should happen next? 

• Contact your bank and credit card companies . If an intruder snagged purses, wallets, or sensitive documents, you’ll wish to notify your credit card issuers and banks right away. It’s smart to freeze accounts and your credit. You may also request a fraud alert with the three main credit bureaus.
• Contact your insurance company. Start the claims process with your insurance company. You should do so within 24 hours of the burglary. 
• Take photos of the damage. Document broken windows, forced doors, and any other damage you see.
• Inventory stolen goods. Create a record of what’s gone and provide it to the authorities and your insurance provider.
• Secure your house. Make your home safe again by replacing locks, fixing windows and doors, and taking care of other damage. If you have a keypad lock, now is the time to update your codes.

Getting your home back in order will help ease your mind and restore a sense of normalcy. After you’re done, it’s time to start thinking upgrading your home security.

Assess And Improve Your Riverside Home’s Security

How can you prevent this from happening again? Your initial step should be to evaluate your home’s security. A modern system with the following equipment will go a long way to keeping your home safe: 

• Video cameras: Nearly all prowlers will reconsider their plans when they notice surveillance cameras. Today’s outdoor and doorbell cameras provide advanced features like AI-powered smart detection. Whenever there’s questionable activity, you’ll get a warning. 
• Access-point sensors: All doors and windows (particularly those on the lower level) should be safeguarded by glass-break or contact sensors.
• Smart locks and lights: These automated components can be operated from anywhere. Concerned you neglected to secure your door? You can confirm and operate the lock from your smartphone. You can even have inside lights turn on if a camera spots someone lurking.

If you want a modern system that alerts you and monitoring agents any time a camera or sensor is tripped, consider a package from the home security leaders at ADT. You’ll appreciate the smartphone access, 24/7 monitoring, and advanced automation.

Stop Break-Ins With The Top Home Security Systems In Riverside

Stop break-ins before they happen with an ADT home security system in Riverside from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As an authorized ADT dealer, we install advanced equipment from the top name in the business. Explore your options by dialing (951) 253-3041 or completing our form today.