What To Do If You Are Burgled
It is extremely unlikely that you will come face-to-face with a burglar breaking into your home, as most break-ins happen when a house is empty. Although, you should still be prepared for the worst case scenario; did you know that in over 28% of burglaries, somebody is thought to be inside of the house when the burglary happens? This can be a very traumatising experience for the person inside, and you might not know what to do if it happens to you. In this blog, we are going to outline what you should do if your property is burgled.
During The Burglary
Try To Find A Safe Place Outside
Your first option should always be to try and escape; usually, the burglar will want to be in and out of your property as quickly as possible and will use the easiest exit route available to them. In most burglary cases, they will try to exit via a back door, after checking the upstairs rooms, so you should try to avoid this route if possible. We do not advise confronting a burglar, as you never know what is going to happen. Nothing that they take from your home is worth risking your life.
Activate Your Alarm System
If you can get to your alarm system, you should definitely trigger it; this is especially useful if you have a panic button that will set the alarms off. If you trigger the alarm, the burglar will be spooked and exit the property as quickly as possible. This is because any loud noises will bring attention to your home and the burglar does not want that.
Hide and Call The Police
If you cannot get out of the house, then you should hide and try to call the police; grab your mobile phone and get somewhere safe, preferably somewhere you can either lock the door or barricade yourself inside. When you have hidden, call 999 and tell them you are in your house and a burglary is currently taking place. We understand that it will be very hard to stay calm and explain what is happen quickly, but you need to try. If you feel that speaking or making noise will endanger yourself, or give your hiding position away, stay quiet and press 55; this alerts the police that you need urgent help but cannot make a noise. When you have done this, keep the line open so that they can hear what is happening and wait for the police to arrive. Hopefully, they will catch the burglar in the act or at the very least, scare them off.
After The Burglary
Change Your Locks
After the burglary takes place, we strongly recommend burglary repairs and changing the locks on your property. Call a local locksmith and find out how quickly they can come out and change your locks. If you call an emergency locksmith they should be able to come and help very quickly.
If you have been the victim of a burglary and require your locks changing, the team here at London Locks can help. You can give us a call on 020 8980 4091 to speak to one of our emergency locksmiths.