In today's article we will deal with a topic, unpleasant but possible, and it is none other than the burglary of a house and what it entails. How should we react after the first shock and what should we do in the second?
Unfortunately, the political and economic conditions we are experiencing have led to an increase in the phenomenon of burglaries. Every day more and more citizens are experiencing the shock of having their homes and family homes broken into. In this article we will not deal with prevention, but with the steps to take after the event.
* All of the following tips relate to the steps we should take in case we are at the time of the burglary EXCEPT home. We are not competent and would not want to give any advice that could even be fatal if the intruder is armed and we are inside the house.
Clearly shock and anger are the two emotions we feel at the sight of our home being broken into. Usually the first mistake What we do is to start exploring the rooms one by one to check for damage, to see what was stolen and to find the intruder's entry point. BIG WRONG, we have to leave the house immediately because no one can guarantee that the burglar is gone, so a face to face encounter with a possibly armed thug would not be the best thing. We call the police immediately, we inform them of the incident and do not approach the house until it arrives. When the authorities arrive and confirm that no one is inside then we can enter the house and do a quick visual assessment of the damage and valuables that may have been stolen.
ATTENTION, we should not touch anything until forensics comes back for fingerprints because we are likely to tamper with material that might help find the culprits. We can in the meantime help the police by informing them in case we locate the burglar's entry gate.
After the police have left and after the negative feelings have subsided we can start to reposition our possessions and make a detailed record of the damage.
We take paper and pencil and note all the lost items. Naturally this list may grow over time as we may not notice some stolen possessions from the beginning.
If there were car keys in the apartment and our vehicle has been stolen, we immediately inform the traffic police, giving the license plate number, make and color of the car. Not only to initiate the procedures to find it, but because we may find ourselves in trouble if the vehicle is used in an illegal action.
If mobile phones or internet sticks have been stolen, we must contact the mobile phone company we work with to disconnect the connection in order to avoid any unwanted charges. If we have kept the packaging of the mobile we can give the IMEI number to the provider to turn off the mobile completely.
If jewellery or other valuables have been stolen, it would be a good idea to check the pawnshops in the area. If we locate our stolen items we do not inform the store manager but call the police immediately.
Pay particular attention to the credit card part. Whether or not they were stolen, we should inform the bank and ask for them to be cancelled. As the clever burglar will not steal our credit card, but will record the credit card details so that he can use it for online purchases.
If your wallet is among the list of stolen items then you should inform the relevant authorities about the loss of the documents and issue new ones.
The next day, after identifying the vulnerable point that allowed the burglar to enter, we should take steps to secure it along with other possible points.
SPECIAL ATTENTION: In the following days after the incident we are naturally charged with negative emotions which should under no circumstances lead us to make hasty moves and waste money. We will hear a lot from "security experts" who will suggest that we buy the SUPER OAHU a security system that cannot be tampered with (whether it's called an alarm, security bars, or an armoured door). MYTH, technology is evolving both ways and what locks, unlocks! Security acts as a deterrent to would-be robbers and makes it harder for them - delays them (the better the quality of the security system - the longer the delay) in case we are targeted. So beware of opportunistic sellers who will take advantage of the situation and try to sell us the UNBREAKABLE SYSTEM their.
Edited by:
Konstantinos Karalis
