What to do after a break-in: the first 24 hours

Is anyone still inside?

Treat it as an emergency and call 911 if:

• you can hear or see someone, or the break-in is still going on,
• the intruder may still be in the house or close by,
• anyone has been hurt.

Don't walk through the house to check. Go back to the car, or to a neighbour's, and make the call from there. The police will tell you when it's safe to go in.

Who do you call in HRM?

If it's over and everyone is safe, it's a non-emergency report. Halifax Regional Police lists its non-emergency dispatch line, 902-490-5020, for break and enters that aren't in progress, when you want an officer to attend (Halifax Regional Police, reporting crime).

Halifax Regional Municipality is policed by Halifax Regional Police and, in some communities, Halifax District RCMP. If the RCMP police your area, its non-emergency line in Nova Scotia is 1-800-803-7267 (RCMP in Nova Scotia).

The two services also share an online reporting tool on halifax.ca for certain non-emergency incidents. Check there whether yours qualifies. A temporary reference number from that tool is not a report number; your insurer needs the case number on the approved report.

However you report it, write down the file or case number. Your insurer will ask for it.

What should you record before tidying up?

Every item you put back erases a little of the evidence. Before you start:

• Photograph the point of entry from a distance and close up: the door, the frame, the lock, any window, every pry mark.
• Photograph each disturbed room, a wide shot first, then the detail.
• Walk through with your phone recording video. You'll spot things in it later that you missed on the day.
• Start a list of what's missing and keep adding to it for the next few days. Serial numbers help if you have them.
• Keep damaged items unless they're a hazard. The Insurance Bureau of Canada suggests checking with your insurer before throwing anything away (IBC).

What does the insurance claim need?

Phone your insurer or broker as soon as you're able. IBC guidance is to report the loss promptly with complete and accurate details (IBC). Have ready:

• the police case or file number,
• your list of stolen and damaged items, with receipts, photos or manuals where you have them,
• your photos and video of the damage,
• later on, a signed proof of loss if your insurer asks for one.

Keep receipts for emergency work to secure the house and for cleanup. Policies differ, so ask your insurer what they need before you book repairs.

What if the door won't lock tonight?

When a door is kicked, the lock usually survives and the frame doesn't. Look at the jamb around the strike plate, where the bolt goes in. On older wooden houses, where the jamb may already be soft from years of damp, a split there is common.

Before evening:

1. Close the door and try the bolt. If the wood around the strike has split, the bolt has nothing to hold.
2. Look at the cylinder. A lock that has been drilled, pried or twisted has to be replaced.
3. Check the other ways in: the back door, the patio door and the door from the garage.
4. Don't trust a wedged chair. If the door can't be locked, call to have it secured.

We fit a new deadbolt and a reinforced strike plate with long screws that reach the wall framing, so the door locks properly again. Where the jamb is badly split, part of the frame needs rebuilding. For damaged locks and forced doors, see lock change and new deadbolts.

Did they take keys, a remote or ID?

Look carefully, because these are easy to miss. Spare keys on a hook by the door, a set in a kitchen drawer, the garage remote clipped in the car, a wallet with your driver's licence. Any of those means locks the burglar never touched are now exposed.

• House keys: rekey or replace every lock they fit.
• Garage remote: erase the opener's memory, re-pair the remotes you still have, and change the keypad code.
• Car keys: have the stolen key deleted from the vehicle's memory.
• Home safe: if it was tampered with, make sure it still opens normally. Our guide to a safe that won't open has the first things to try.

It's the same thinking as losing your keys, with more urgency. Our post on whether to change locks after losing keys lists everything worth resetting.

How do you make the next attempt fail?

Once the door is secure again, deal with the weak spots while you still remember exactly how they got in:

• The strike plate, fixed with long screws into the stud behind the jamb.
• A solid deadbolt that throws its full length into the frame.
• Glass near the lock that someone could break and reach through.
• Lighting and sightlines at the front, the back and any path down the side of the house.

Each one is covered in how to secure your front door from break-ins. If you want keys that can't be copied at a hardware counter, ask us about higher-security locks.

Looking after the household

A break-in leaves more than a broken door. Sleep often suffers for a while, and children can worry it will happen again.

• Show the kids the new lock. Seeing the house made secure helps.
• Talk to the neighbours. Someone may have seen a car or have a camera that caught something, and they'll keep a closer eye from now on.
• Change your passwords if a phone, laptop or tablet was taken, and call your bank about any cards.
• Reach out for support if it keeps weighing on you. That's a normal reaction.

The printable after a break-in checklist below gathers all of this on one page in the right order: police, photos, insurer, the door tonight, and every key, remote and code.