It’s a nightmare everybody dreads – coming home from a holiday or a day out to discover that your home has been burgled. In most cases thieves will go for the most desirable items they can find, grab them and get out again as quickly as possible. Prime targets are cash, jewellery, phones and other electronic goods, notably TV sets, laptop computers and tablets. Whatever the thieves take, the only consolation is that it could have been far worse – as those who’ve discovered their homes have also been vandalised know only too well. The psychological shock of realising that a stranger has been inside your home may take a long time to recover from, especially for children.
Making a claim
The first thing to do is to assess the damage. Make a list of everything that seems to be missing – including any relevant serial numbers, if possible – and then notify the police. In all probability, they’ll send an officer round to note down your details. While the police will undoubtedly do whatever they can to recover your stolen possessions, the hard truth is that the chances of them doing so are very slim.
Notifying the police is still vital, because they will give you a crime reference number which you’ll need if you’re planning to make an insurance claim. Hopefully your policy will replace the stolen items at their current cost to replace them rather than the price you paid when you purchased them, but it’s all a matter of your policy’s terms and conditions and how you negotiate a settlement with the insurance company.
Salvaging your computer
Most of us today keep all manner of truly irreplaceable items on our computers – vital documents, music collections, and all those precious family photos and videos. Everybody knows that we should back up our files, frequently but most of us probably don’t back them up often enough. In some cases, thieves will also steal backup hard drives and memory sticks as well.
If you are lucky and get your computer and devices returned, you will want it to be checked over by an expert in eforensics who may be able to recover all your files for you, but they will assess your computer to be able to tell who the culprit was by the searches that they made while they had it in their possession. This can be done using their search history and the social media sites they accessed.
The effects of vandalism
Even though cases of vandalism are rare, there are always a few people who are more interested in getting a kick out of destroying someone else’s property. Whatever form this takes – and it can get extremely messy and unpleasant – it’s something that is always upsetting for the home owner. Even if the mess they’ve created can be easily cleared up, the resulting emotional trauma is harder to recover from. In the most extreme cases, the victims may need counselling to help them get over it. For some, their homes will never feel safe again, and the only solution is to move to a new house; others may feel driven by a determination to reclaim and restore their home once again.