What to do if You Come Home and Find a Crime Scene

Home burglary is one of the most frequently occurring crimes in recent days. On average, 4,800 home burglaries happen daily in the United States. Research shows that most burglaries usually occur between 10 am and 3 pm when members of the home are away at work or school, leaving the property empty.

Although home burglary cannot precisely be predicted, it can be prevented. Some tips to avoid a home burglary include:

  • Avoid keeping extra keys under the door mats, flowerpots, and other “secret places”. These are the first places the burglar checks.
  • Periodically trim the shrubs and trees around your home to reduce covers for buglers.
  • Ensure your alarm system is always activated.
  • Confirm all the doors are locked whenever you leave the house or go to bed.
  • Make sure your storage and garage doors are closed and locked.

Now, let’s say you take all these measures. Yet on this eventful day you come back from work to find that your house has been burgled. Your designer wristwatches, shoes, laptop, television, and the cash you stashed away in your closet, and other valuables were all gone. You meet your house in a mess, clothes and books strewn all over the floor.

What are the Next Steps?

Report to the Police

After discovering your house has been robbed, the first thing you should do is alert the police. The reason for this is to alert the police force that a crime has taken place and also to protect yourself, as the culprit could still be on the property. The fastest way to report a crime to the police is by calling them with your phone. But most importantly, your safety is the priority. So do not confront the culprit if they’re still around and armed. Wait for the police to arrive at the scene before you take further action.

Do Not Tamper with Evidence

If possible, stay away from the crime scene as far as possible until the police are around. This is to avoid interfering and contaminating the evidence. With the protection of the police, you can go around and observe the damage. You can also take pictures of the crime scene to present to your insurance company as evidence.

It is important to avoid touching anything, as there could be footprints, fingerprints, hair samples, and other evidence the police could use to apprehend the culprit.

Recover from the Shock

If you live alone, it would be very traumatic to sleep alone in the house. Just stay calm and reach out to your family and friends. They are the best source of comfort and support you can get during this difficult time. You should also reach out to your neighbors to alert them about the burglary.

You might not feel comfortable sleeping in your house after the incident. Spending about two to three nights in another environment is okay. It gives you enough time and space to recover from the burglary.

Communicate with the Police

No matter how devastated you are, you should still try to provide any information that could help the police with their investigations. Especially the house’s security system, you could find out how it was compromised. And also, ask your neighbors if they witnessed any suspicious activity around your home.

The police will give you a police crime reference number; this is very important for your insurance claim. The police will also patrol the area to help you make your home secure.

Make an Inventory

You need to make a list of the missing items and give the police a copy of the list. The inventory would assist in the recovery of the things when the culprit is caught. Check the storage and garage for missing tools like a baseball bat, golf rack, or hammer that the culprit could have used to break in.

According to the office of national statistics, items that are commonly stolen in home burglaries are purses, wallets, cards, cash, computer equipment, jewelry, watches, luxury items, and also electrical items like cameras, etc.

Suppose there are any stolen cards or bank information. In that case, you should contact your bank or finance providers immediately to block or cancel them. Suppose your passports and divers’ licenses were stolen. In that case, you should contact the embassy and department of motor vehicles, respectively, and also inform the police too.

Contact Your Insurance Company

You are required to inform your insurance company within 24 hours of the incident. You also have to submit the police crime reference number given to you to claim your insurance and the inventory of the stolen items in your home.

Also, you should check your insurance policy terms to confirm what items are cover威而鋼
ed in your insurance.

Strengthen Your Home Security

Studies reveal that about fifty-one percent of home burglaries are repeated within six weeks. The crime can be repeated either by the same burglar or another. To be on the safe side, you must reach out to the police or a security professional to give tips on solidifying your breached security.

Now, after all these strenuous activities, you are left to clean up the mess by yourself in the cold and lonely house. If you ever find yourself in a situation like this one, then you have two options.

The first option would be to pick up a broom, mop, brush, and water to clean up the house yourself. Now, this might sound like a great idea at first; however, it has a few problems. First is that while it may look like the cheapest option as you’re doing it yourself, it’s not the safest one. That’s because at crime scenes, there may be biologically hazardous materials like blood. There may also be other physically harmful objects at the scene. These include pieces of glass, metals, and other sharp objects. Cleaning all of these usually requires special equipment and expertise. So, attempting to clean up without the necessary equipment and expertise would put you in harm’s way.

Also, remember you probably just got back after a hectic day at work. Also, recall all of the stress you had to go through in calling the police. Don’t forget you also had to give them your account of what happened. All of these combined are more than enough to make a person feel very tired. Oh, and remember you also have to resume work the very next morning. So, you need to clean up and then get a lot of rest.

Now, cleaning up crime scenes is no easy task. This means you would need a lot of energy for it. So, any attempt to perform at such a level of while you’re that tired could make you break down.

Luckily for you, that’s where your second option comes to play.

The second option, which would seem very enticing at the time, is engaging the service of a cleaning firm. This would save you a lot of time and energy, giving you enough period to recover from the trauma. There are many advantages of getting the services of a professional cleaning firm. So let’s list a few of them.

Advantages of Hiring a Professional Cleaning Firm

They Protect You from Exposure to Harm

To thoroughly clean a crime scene, you need to have the right equipment. You require more than a brush, mop, broom, or vacuum for cleaning. Suppose a crime scene is not cleaned correctly. In that case, there is a high risk of contracting diseases and infections from biohazards generated at the crime scene. That is why you require the service of a professional cleaning firm to handle that.

They Save Your Time and Energy

After a traumatic experience of your house being robbed, you cannot have the physical and mental strength to clean the house thoroughly. You would be busy with the paperwork with the police and your insurance provider. That is why you should leave it to a professional cleaning firm to take care of the cleaning while you handle other errands.

Cleaners Leave Your House Cleaner and Fresher than Before

Professional cleaning agencies are specialists in making places clean. That’s exactly their primary job description. Leaving the task of cleaning of your home to these professionals is the best move. They know how to reach even the spots where you normally wouldn’t. This is sure to leave your home looking even cleaner than normal.

It can be very stressful for a victim to clean up the house after the police have rounded up their investigation. There is also the risk of exposure to dangerous objects that the victim might not be aware of. That’s where we come in. Puro Clean is a professional cleanup agency, and we provide our customers with the best cleaning services, including crime scenes.

Puro Clean is your best bet for a perfect and squeaky-clean job with the right equipment and etiquette. We have professionally trained staff and provide them with the right equipment and knowledge to ensure that the cleanup is thoroughly done with utmost attention to the tiniest detail. Leaving you with the sparkling home that you deserve.

So if you need the services of a professional cleaning firm, we are your best bet. So do contact Puro Clean on 772-763-1313 and rest assured that you would be getting the best service that there is.

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