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It’s every resident’s nightmare. You arrive home and find your front door is wide open or a window broken. You can hardly process what’s happened, worrying about what’s been stolen and the harm done to your property. What can you do? Remain calm, take a deep breath, and follow these tips after a break-in at your Austin home.  

Once the dust settles, learn how to better prevent intrusions with an advanced security system.

Initial Steps After A Burglary

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

• Stay outside. It’s only natural that you want to go inside to see what happened. Don’t. There’s a chance a burglar is still on site.
• Contact law enforcement at once.  Keep yourself and family members at a safe distance and wait until help arrives. Work with the police to make an official report. 
• Don’t touch a thing. Let the police secure the premises and do their job.  

What Do You Do Next?

You’ve made an official report with the authorities, and your home is clear to re-enter. What should happen next? 

• Contact your bank and credit card companies . If a thief grabbed purses, wallets, or sensitive documents, you must contact your credit card issuers and banks immediately. It’s a good idea to put a hold on accounts and your credit. You may also place a fraud alert with credit bureaus.
• Contact your insurer. Start the claims process with your insurance company. This needs to be done within one day of the incident. 
• Take photos of the damage. Document broken windows, forced doors, and anything else that’s been damaged.
• Document what was taken. Write down what’s missing and provide it to the police and your insurance provider.
• Secure your house. Get your home secured by installing new locks, fixing doors and windows, and repairing other damage. If you use a keypad lock, now is the time to reset your codes.

Cleaning up will do wonders for your stress and get life back to normal. After you’re done, it’s time to consider improving your home security.

Evaluate And Upgrade Your Austin Home’s Security

What should you do to prevent another burglary from taking place? Your initial step should be to assess your home security. A modern system with these tools will go a long way to keeping your home safe: 

• Surveillance cameras: Just about all would-be burglars will think twice about breaking in when they observe 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 protected by contact or glass-break sensors.
• Smart locks and lighting: These automated tools can be managed remotely. Concerned you neglected to lock your door? You can check and operate the lock from your smartphone. You can even have interior lighting turn on if a camera discovers someone lurking.

If you are looking for a modern system that notifies you and monitoring representatives whenever a device is triggered, look into a package from the home security specialists at ADT. You’ll benefit from smartphone access, 24-hour monitoring, and convenient automation.

Avoid Break-Ins With The Leading Home Security Systems In Austin

Stop burglaries before they happen with an ADT home security system in Austin from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As an authorized ADT dealer, we install the latest equipment from the most respected name in the business. Learn more about your options by dialing (512) 641-0712 or filling out our form today.