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It’s every homeowner’s nightmare. You return home to see your door is wide open or a window broken. You can’t think straight, worrying about what’s missing and the damage to your home. What will you do? Remain calm, take a deep breath, and follow our recommendations after a break-in at your Birmingham home.  

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

Initial Steps After A Break-In

Seeing your house burglarized is unsettling. You could be scared, upset, or simply in shock. Regardless, it’s important to act rationally by doing the following: 

• Stay outside. It may be tempting to rush inside to look around. Don’t. There’s a risk someone is still inside.
• Call the authorities at once.  Keep yourself and family members safely away and wait for emergency services. Work with the police to make an official report. 
• Don’t touch a thing. Allow officers take charge and collect evidence.  

What Are The Next Steps?

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

• Cancel credit cards and alert your bank . If an intruder grabbed purses, wallets, or personal records, you must notify your credit card issuers and banks immediately. It’s smart to put a hold on accounts and your credit. You might also add a fraud alert with credit bureaus.
• Call your insurer. Initiate a claim with your insurance provider. This needs to be done within one day of the burglary. 
• Record damage on camera. Document broken windows, kicked-in doors, and anything else that’s been damaged.
• Inventory stolen goods. Write down what’s gone and provide it to law enforcement and your insurance company.
• Secure your home. Make your home safe again by installing new locks, fixing windows and doors, and taking care of other damage. If you use a keypad lock system, now is the time to change your access codes.

Tidying up will help ease your mind and restore a sense of normalcy. Once you do, it’s time to think about improving your home security.

Evaluate And Upgrade The Security At Your Birmingham Home

What should you do to prevent another intrusion from happening? Your starting point should be to take stock of your home security. An advanced system with these devices will go a long way to strengthening your home’s protection: 

• Security cameras: Almost every prowler will reconsider their plans when they see security cameras. Today’s outdoor and doorbell cameras offer advanced capabilities like smart detection. When there’s unusual activity, you’ll receive a warning. 
• Access-point sensors: All doors and windows (specifically those on the ground floor) should be shielded by glass-break or contact sensors.
• Smart lights and locks: These automated tools can be controlled from anywhere. Are you worried you forgot to secure your door? You can verify and activate the lock right from your smartphone. You can even have inside lights go on if a camera detects suspicious activity.

If you are searching for an integrated system that notifies you and monitoring staff any time a camera or sensor is set off, look into a package from the home security specialists at ADT. You’ll benefit from mobile access, 24/7 monitoring, and custom automation.

Stop Break-Ins With The Leading Home Security Systems In Birmingham

Stop break-ins before they happen with an ADT home security package in Birmingham from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As your authorized ADT dealer, we install modern equipment from the top name in the business. Learn more about your options by reaching out to (205) 203-0526 or submitting our form today.