Your house has been broken into and you’ve called the police.
Once they’ve arrived, be prepared to answer questions. These help the officers gather information about the event.
WHN TIP – Make Some Notes: While you’re waiting, make some notes based on the following questions so you can give them as many details as possible.
Typical questions include:
- Who was at home at the time of the burglary?
- What did you see or hear?
- If no one was at home, who was the last person to leave the home and when?
- Were the doors and windows locked and shut?
- What time did you return home?
- Did you see anyone inside or outside your home when you returned? If so, what did they look like:
- Gender:_________________________________________________________
- Age:____________________________________________________________
- Weight:__________________________________________________________
- Height:__________________________________________________________
- Size:____________________________________________________________
- Skin color:________________________________________________________
- Hair color/length:___________________________________________________
- Clothing:_________________________________________________________
- Shoes:___________________________________________________________
- Distinguishing features (glasses, hat, tattoos, piercings, scars, etc.):____________________________________________________________
- Did you see any cars drive by? If so, what did they look like:
- Type of car (truck, sedan, van, etc.):_______________________________________
- Color:___________________________________________________________
- Make:___________________________________________________________
- Model:___________________________________________________________
- Year:____________________________________________________________
- License plate:______________________________________________________
- Distinguishing features (cracks, stickers, dents, detailing):________________________________________________________
- How long did you wait to call 9-1-1?___________________________________________
- What items have been taken? _______________________________________________
- Are any items/furniture/rooms damaged?_______________________________________
- Who lives here?_________________________________________________________
- How long have you lived here?_______________________________________________
- Who has keys to the house?_________________________________________________
- Do you have a security system? Was it activated? Who has access codes to the system?___________________________________________________________________
- Have you hired any contractors or repairmen recently?___________________________________________________________________
- Have any door-to-door salespersons stopped by recently?___________________________________________________________________
- Who has been inside your home recently?___________________________________________________________________
- Do you have any idea as to who the perpetrator might be?___________________________________________________________________
- Are your insurance payments up to date?_______________________________________
- When did you last file a claim?______________________________________________
WHN TIP – Get Your Inventory List. Having trouble figuring out what might be missing? Use your home inventory list. (If you haven’t done one recently, do it now!)
Photo Credit: Pixabay