Putting The Pieces Back Together After A Break-In
Whether you were home when it happened or not, recovering from a break-in can be traumatic. It may require some time to put everything back in order. One of your early priorities needs to address security, especially if the point of entry was one of your exterior doors. By prioritizing recovery and prevention, you can ensure that your family feels as safe as possible inside your home.
Immediate Needs
Once law enforcement has been called, your next priority should be securing the house until a thorough repair job can be started. If your doors were breached due to a lock failure, re-keying or replacing the locks on your doors is a quick and effective starting point. This way, a professional can evaluate the failure point and determine an appropriate resolution that will see you through the interim period.
Once any evidence has been gathered by police, you need to be able to quickly put your home back into a secure state. Repairs may be necessary, such as door frames or windows being replaced, but don't limit yourself to an equivalent replacement. Take the opportunity to improve the security offered by doors, windows, locks and deadbolts.
Long Term Improvements
While many locksmiths offer emergency services, the same professionals can also help advise you on more expansive home improvements. Reinforced door frames can prevent forced breaches, anti-burglar locks can prevent more savvy criminals from gaining entry, and the addition of RF key fobs can ensure that keyless entry systems can't be easily overcome. Of course, all of this will depend on the nature of your concerns, and what other steps you intend to take to secure your home, so don't limit your attention only to your doors and their locks.
The addition of exterior lighting can often deter most thieves, so consider a motion activated exterior light. You can also prominently display security system signage, and make smaller devices more obvious, such as window alarms, motion sensors and surveillance cameras. Even if you don't invest in a monitoring system, simply having these components in view is often all it takes to keep anyone from testing their luck or calling your bluff.
Remember that your primary concern needs to be preventing anyone from breaking in again, so make sure your locks are up to snuff and have been professionally installed. Even the best camera security system merely provides evidence for the future, so while they can be helpful, all those cameras are only useful after a thief has been caught. You owe it to your family to prevent that from becoming necessary. For more information, contact a professional like Security Locksmiths.
