What to Do in the First Hour After a Break-In - YouTube Video

Let’s say you’re on your way home from your kid’s soccer game. When you pull up to your driveway, something feels off. As you approach your front door, you notice your window is broken. Glass is everywhere.

What you do next is important, but it goes against every instinct you might have. It’s clear your house has been broken into. So what do you do next?

Hi, my name’s Doug. I’m a husband, a father of five, and a security expert. I’ve worked in the industry almost 20 years, and have tested almost every security system there is. I’m now the host of Cove’s YouTube channel.

So what do you do after a break in? In this video, we’ll cover what you should do in the first hour after a break in.

Number 1. Don’t go in The first thing you should do is stay outside of your house. It might be tempting to go in and look around, but that’s the police’s job. For all you know, the robber could still be in your house. The robber could be armed and dangerous. Going into your house could put you in the middle of a conflict or a hostage situation.

It would be better to go to a safe location such as your car or a neighbor’s house. I know it might be tempting to enter your house, but it’s much safer to wait until the police arrive.

Number 2. Call 911 Once you’re in a safe place, the next thing you should do is call 911. Tell the operator your address, what you saw, and your current location. Police dispatchers will coordinate an appropriate response and send the police to your house.

Number 3. Wait for Police Approval When the police get to your home, you will need to wait before entering. The police will conduct a sweep to ensure the thief is no longer in your home or yard. Police will have the training to safely clear your home while preserving evidence. If the thief escapes, police will also do their best to catch the criminal. Once the police give you approval, you can enter your home. However, don’t touch anything yet.

Number 4. Don’t Touch Anything This step might be hard, but it’s very important - Don’t Touch Anything. You could accidentally destroy evidence like fingerprints or other forensic evidence. This evidence could lead to the conviction of the thief, so be very cautious. The thief may have left a wake of destruction in their tracks, but resist the urge to clean everything up just yet. You can do that later, once you have taken pictures.

Number 5. Take Photos One of the reasons you shouldn’t touch anything just yet is because you’ll need to take photos of the crime scene. Capture everything on camera before making changes to your home. Take wide shots showing the overall condition of each room and detailed images of any damage. Also take pictures of the entry point -- basically where the burglar got in. These photos will be necessary for your insurance claims, as well as for police evidence.

Number 6. Get the Police Report Number When talking with the police, be sure to answer their questions openly and honestly. Provide as much detail as possible about what happened, when you last left your home, and any suspicious activity you might have noticed in recent days.

Before the officer leaves, ask for your report number. Write it down, along with the officer's name and the department they're with.

This is the step people forget, and it's the one that causes the most trouble later. Almost every homeowners and renters policy requires a police report to process a theft claim, so you’ll need the report number. One more thing worth knowing: you don't have to have a complete list of what's missing at first. Most people keep discovering things for weeks. You can file a supplemental report to add missing items later.

Number 7. Safeguard your Accounts Next, you should safeguard your accounts. If any credit cards or debit cards were taken, be sure to cancel them. If you had electronics taken, such as your laptop or phone, robbers may have access to your online accounts. As fast as possible, change your email password. Your email is needed to get into a lot of accounts, so it’s important to change it first. Then reset your banking passwords, and any other sensitive accounts the robbers could have access to.

If documents with your Social Security number on them were taken, go to IdentityTheft.gov and file there.

Number 8. Make repairs After you safeguard your accounts, you can finally clean up. If a window was broken, clean up the glass and board up the window. If a door lock was broken, go out and buy a new lock and install it. Make sure to repair the damage that was done, and safeguard your home from more intrusions.

If your keys were taken, or if a spare key was in a drawer they went through, change the locks. Keep the receipts for any emergency repairs. Many insurance policies reimburse them.

Number 9. Call Your Insurance Now you can call your insurance to tell them about the break-in. Provide your insurance with the photos you took and your police report number. Tell your insurance what happened, and ask about their limits on reimbursement. When you buy home insurance you usually pay for a set dollar amount of coverage. Hopefully, your insurance plan covers what was stolen.

Number 10. Consider Long Term Security Lastly, as the hours and days pass by after a break in, you should consider long term security solutions.

Homes that have been broken into once are more likely to be broken into again. The reason is simple. Someone has now walked through your house. They know the layout, they know what you own, and they know roughly how long they had. Sometimes robbers will come back after the insurance money has replaced everything.

So how can you be ready? One solution is to get a home security system. Security systems like Cove are simple to setup, and offer serious protection. Cove uses RapidSOS, which is several minutes faster than traditional home security systems. In the event of another break-in, Cove will dispatch the police in a timely manner to respond to the break in. Having a security system like Cove is a no brainer.

Other solutions for long term security include upgrading your locks and illuminating your yard. When a yard is lit up, thieves are less likely to try breaking in.

Recap So that’s what you should do in the first hour after a break-in. To recap, you should first avoid entering your house, go somewhere safe, call 911 and wait for the police to clear your house. Then, you can take care of the rest once you know the robber is gone.

But what if you’re in the house during a robbery? What should you do then?

The simple answer is, this situation is no different. If your house is genuinely being robbed, it would be best to escape from your house and go somewhere safe. Some people might feel compelled to confront the intruder, but this carries risk - someone might get hurt. You never know if the robber has a weapon, or what their motives are. Nothing in your house is worth confronting someone over. If you can’t get outside, get everyone into one room, lock the door, and call 911.

So that’s been our video on what to do in the first hour after a break in. Hopefully, you’ll never need to take my advice, and your home stays safe. But in the case where your house is broken into, this video should have given you some things to think about. At the core, the most important thing is your safety.

Well, I’ll see you guys in the next video. This is Doug with Cove, signing off.