After a burglary, it is easy to feel victimized. It may be tempting to give up the security of owning a gun or other weapon to avoid bearing the responsibility if you are involved in another burglary. However, this would be a mistake. Instead, take steps beforehand to protect yourself and your belongings from burglary should it ever happen to you.

No one wants to think about what happens if they get robbed, but it’s important to be prepared for the worst.

 

FAQs About How to Deal with the Consequences of a Break-In

 

What steps can I take to protect myself if my home is ever broken into?

  • Keep all of your doors locked at all times. Make sure that they are secured with quality locks so that they cannot be easily breached. Install alarms with cameras on the exterior of your house so that you will have ample evidence against intruders in case they ever break-in.

 

 

  • Invest in a quality alarm system that has cameras so that you can easily catch an intruder red-handed or walk away with proof of who entered your home without your permission. This will make it much easier to file the police report and take down the criminals. If you can, record all of your footage onto a hard drive where it will be safe and easy to find later.

 

  • Make sure that you keep your doors and windows locked at all times. This is the easiest way for intruders to gain entry into the house where they can steal anything that they want with ease. Also, if there are people in the home who don’t have as much experience securing themselves, it’s a good idea to keep weapons or other self-defense tools nearby in case of an emergency.

 

What is the difference between a burglary and a robbery?

A robbery occurs when someone unlawfully takes property from another person with the use of force, violence, or intimidation. A burglary, on the other hand, happens when someone enters a residence with the intent to commit theft. It doesn’t matter whether or not they actually make off with anything, it’s still considered burglary if that was their goal when they entered the home.

A robbery usually involves strangers while burglary may involve friends, family members, or neighbors who know about the security measures of the house and how easy it might be to gain entry.

Robbery victims are not usually at home when it happens, but if they are (like in the case of a home invasion) there’s a greater risk of them being injured or worse. Burglary on the other hand is much less likely to have these consequences because an intruder will have more time to get out of the house after they commit the crime without being caught.

In most cases, a robbery results in a loss of more expensive items while burglary can involve smaller, less valuable items. Also, if anything is taken from the home during a break-in it will be much easier to identify and connect with a suspect because almost everyone has their personal belongings that can be traced back to them.

Burglary is much easier than robbery because it doesn’t need to involve force or intimidation. All of the planning and strategy is already done for the perpetrator so they don’t have to worry about whether they will be able to take what they want by using their bare hands.

Robbery is a much more serious crime than burglary because there’s a risk of the people being robbed getting injured or killed. This is not the case with burglary unless the intruder has some sort of weapon and makes it clear that they intend to use it.

 

What should I do if my home has been broken into?

  • Call the police immediately after you’ve secured yourself and make sure everyone else is okay. Be very careful not to touch anything because by doing so, you might move it or damage something that will need to be collected as evidence later on.
  • Look around the rest of the house and see what has been taken (if anything) because unless the criminal left any of their belongings behind, this will help you to narrow down who might be responsible. Also, record everything that has been damaged so that you can get the best possible estimate on what it will cost to fix or replace it.
  • Make a list of anything that’s missing along with as many details as possible from where it was stolen to who might have done it. Get all of this information down on paper so that you can give it to the police when they arrive. It’s also a good idea to write down any possible suspects or leads that come up in the initial investigation process so that they don’t get dismissed later on.

There are some cases in the past where people have gotten into legal trouble for mishandling evidence or contaminating an area that was being investigated so it’s especially important to be careful when gathering all of this information.

If the intruder managed to get in because they were let in by someone responsible for locking up, then there is a strong chance that person will be facing charges as well.

  • The effects of a break-in can be pretty shocking but try to keep yourself together because you’ll need to stay strong while the police are investigating.

 

What should I do if someone breaks in when I’m home?

  • Make sure you know how to contact the police and dial 911 before anything else happens. Also, make sure everyone with you knows where all of the important numbers are (doctor, dentist, fire department, etc.) in case they’re needed too.
  • If it’s safe to confront them then shout at them to fight back until they leave or until help arrives. By doing this most criminals will choose not to fight with you which means there is less of a chance that anyone will get hurt except them.
  • Keep the noises down so that your intruder doesn’t realize you know they’re there. This can be hard to do because their presence might already have caused an emotional reaction which makes it difficult to stay calm enough for this tactic to work.
  • Since hostage situations are very dangerous, try not to let them get any worse by acting impulsively at first sight of the criminal. Instead, slowly move toward a place where you can defend yourself or contact someone who can help without giving away that you noticed anything out of the ordinary.

 

If you’ve ever had your home broken into, then you know how devastating it can be

You feel violated and vulnerable. It’s hard to sleep at night knowing that someone has been in your house without permission.

But there are steps you can take to make sure this never happens again. And we want to help! We offer a range of services designed to keep your family safe and secure, including lock installation, rekeying locks, key duplication, emergency lockout service, and more!

Call us today for a free estimate on any of our services or schedule an appointment online right now! Or if you prefer emailing us directly with questions about our services or availability please send them over at info@rightontime-locksmith.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

 

For more information on our security solutions, call (301) 798-5333 today!