Coming home or opening up to find a door forced or a window gone is a shock. The first hour matters, not because anything has to be rushed, but because a few simple steps in the right order save a great deal of trouble later. This is the sequence we suggest to people who call us.
First, make sure nobody is still inside
If there is any chance the intruder is still in the building, do not go in. Step back to a safe place, keep others away and call 999. If the building is clearly empty and the break-in has already happened, the number to report it is 101, or you can report online to your local police force.
Either way you will be given a crime reference number. Write it down. Your insurer will ask for it, and so will anyone else who has to deal with the aftermath, including us if we attend.
Touch as little as possible
It is tempting to start tidying. Resist it until the police have told you whether they will attend or whether they need anything from the scene. Fingerprints and footprints are easily lost. Take photographs of the damage and the rooms as you found them, from the doorway, before you move anything. Photograph the forced door or window close up as well. These pictures help the insurer and help us when we quote for the repair.
Ring your insurer
Most policies ask you to report a burglary promptly, and many have a helpline that runs around the clock. Tell them what happened, give the crime reference number and ask two things: whether they want to appoint their own contractor for emergency repairs, and whether they need an estimate before permanent work starts. Some insurers are happy for you to arrange boarding-up and lock changes yourself and claim the cost back. Check, because the answer varies.
Make the property safe for the night
An open frontage or a forced door cannot be left. The usual order is: board the broken glass, secure or temporarily lock the forced door, and change any lock whose keys may have been taken. If keys were on a hook by the door or in a drawer that was emptied, assume they have gone and change the locks they fit, including any that work the back door, the garage or a shed.
If a door has been kicked in, the frame often splits even when the lock itself survives. A lock fitted to a cracked frame is not secure. A good locksmith will tell you whether the frame needs repair as well as the lock.
Write down what is missing
Walk through each room with a notepad or your phone and list what has gone. Include serial numbers where you have them, and photographs of valuables if you took them when you bought them. Cancel bank cards straight away. If passports, driving licences or other identity documents were taken, report them to the issuing body so they cannot be used.
Ask the neighbours and check for cameras
Neighbours may have seen or heard something, or may have a doorbell camera or CCTV that caught the street. Ask them to keep the footage and tell the police it exists. Many cameras overwrite after a few days, so this is worth doing early.
Afterwards
Once the immediate work is done, think about what let the burglar in. Was it a lock that could be snapped or slipped? A window left on the latch? A side gate that gave access to the back? Our guide on locks that insurers accept covers the most common upgrades. If you want someone to look over the property with you, that is a normal part of a locksmith visit and you should not feel awkward asking.
Victim Support, an independent charity, offers free help to people affected by crime, whether or not the police are involved. Being burgled is unsettling, and talking it through is not an overreaction.