What To Do After a Business Break-In

We’ve covered at length how to prevent break-ins and keep a secure facility, but some criminals are persistent (have you ever seen The Thomas Crown Affair?) and will make attempts even on the most secure grounds. What steps should be taken if your business has been burglarized?

Notify The Police & File a Report

If possible, do not enter the building when you show up to a burglarized business. If you do enter, proceed with caution (a burglar could still be lurking), and don’t touch anything. You want to leave things as-is for when the police arrive.

Calling the police should be the first actionable step you take as it will increase your odds of retrieving any stolen items. Every second counts!

PRO TIP: As a Per Mar commercial security customer with 24/7 alarm monitoring this step is taken care of for you upon a verified alarm event and, might we add, with zero time wasted.

Next, you’ll want to file a police report. Options are typically either filing in person at the local police station or filing online.

 

Take Inventory & Contact Your Insurance Agent

Once the police are gone, you can take photos for your own records. If you have before photos for any of the missing or damaged items, locate them. Same for receipts of said items, if you have them.

When filing an insurance claim, your insurance agent’s first question will be for the police report number, so be sure to have that in hand when you call. Have your photos and receipts ready when the adjuster visits your place of business to assess the damage.

PRO TIP: Commercial theft insurance is available for burglary and robbery, property damage and vandalism, and employee dishonesty just to name a few. If you don’t already have coverage in one or more of these areas, now might be the time to commit.

 

Cancel Everything, Regroup & Clean Up The Mess

Do not leave your business finances and credit up to chance. Even if your company credit cards haven’t gone missing, consider intruders who snap photos of financial documents such as bank and credit card statements. As a precautionary step, freeze accounts and cancel credit cards.

It’s also important to regroup. Your staff may be a bit shaken up depending on the level of damage. If anyone was present during the burglary, consider setting up onsite, group counseling. Discuss your next steps with all employees and iterate what measures have been taken (or will be taken) to prevent something like this from happening again.

After the emotional nurturing has been addressed, you may need to nurture your property. Putting things back to normal as quickly as possible will help everyone, including you, move on faster.

 

Identify Weak Points & Develop A New Security Plan

Once the mess left behind has been cleaned up, identify all weak points and then develop a new security plan. Gather a team to brainstorm ideas and rule nothing out! Was the lock on the door weak? Were codes too easy to break? Were confidential items left out in the open? Is the last person to leave properly locking up?

The roadmap has been laid out for you so now all you have to do is execute! Could your business benefit from security cameras, access control systems (keyless entry), and an upgraded burglar alarm? Is a security guard warranted?

Once all possible problems and solutions have been identified, narrow it down to what makes the most sense for the safety of your business and the people in it. A trusted, local security company will work with you to ensure your needs are met. We just happen to know one that is top-rated!