Full Notification

Returning home from a holiday trip or vacation to find that your house has been burglarized can be traumatic. Not only can you find that valuables and, perhaps, cash has been stolen but you may also feel personally violated. Here’s what to do if your home has been burglarized:

*Leave the house, call 911 and don’t touch anything.
*Talk to your neighbors.Perhaps they saw something or someone suspicious. Alert them that they should take extra precautions to protect their homes and belongings.
*If you have homeowners or renters insurance, call your insurance company.Hopefully, you have pictures of anything worth more than $200 and even receipts for high ticket items It’s a good idea to keep these in a safe deposit box at your bank rather than in the house..
*Check with local pawn shops and search local internet classified ads to see if any of your valuables may show up. If you spot something which you believe to be one of your stolen items, contact the police department.
*Change the locks on your outside doors.
*The experience of having your personal space violated by a burglary can be emotionally traumatic Your friends and family can be valuable resources in helping you recover from the fear, anger and sense of hopelessness which many people feel in these situations.
Some safety tips which may help prevent this type of situation from happening:
*If the house will be vacant for a few days, put mail and newspaper deliveries on hold.
*Put timers on lights in various rooms and set each one to a different schedule to convey the impression that the house is occupied.
*Set a radio on an all-talk radio station, turn up the volume to be somewhat higher than for normal listening, and plug the radio into a timer device in order to convey the impression that there are people in the house conversing.
*Inform trusted neighbors about your plans to be away from home so that they’ll be on the lookout for suspicious activity. Provide them with contact information just in case they need to reach you.
*Inform the police department about your plans to be away from home. (584-1800)

Hopefully, you’ll never have to experience the trauma of a home burglary. But, if it happens to you, now you’ll be better prepared to take control.