What to do if you find a burglar in your home

For countless home owners their home is their safe haven, a place for them to escape from their otherwise chaotic lives. For this reason no one wants their home to be targeted by burglars, but it does happen. Here we look at what to do if you are confronted by a thief in your home.

It’s late at night and you are in bed when you hear glass breaking downstairs. With your heart thundering in your throat you realize that someone is breaking into your home. What do you do?

In the US it is reported that every 15 seconds a home burglary takes place. Naturally, though, if you find yourself the target of thieves your first reaction may be fright as you start thinking about who is in your house, how many of them there are and if they have weapons with them. Fright, however, may quickly followed by anger.

Regardless of what you are feeling in this situation it is important for you to remain calm and assess the situation as best as you can. Your first call of action should be to phone the police before taking other steps. This way you’ll know that help is on the way.

Many people will say that you should find a place to hide and avoid confronting the thief or thieves in your home. Others will say that someone who has gained access to your home without your permission should be confronted. Every situation will be different and it is important to realize this before deciding to rush downstairs screaming and shouting the house down with an assortment of weapons.

Here are a few things to consider after you have phoned the police:

• Shut your bedroom door and lock it, placing a barricade behind the door

• Turn off any lights you have on inside your bedroom

• If you have something to arm yourself with such as a baseball bat, TASER or golf club, keep this nearby if the intruder breaks through your barricade

• If you are confident make enough noise to alert the intruder that someone is home and that you have phoned the police

• Stay put until police have arrested the intruder and have knocked on your door to inform you all is well

If, however, you decide to confront your intruder, ere on the side of caution as they could potentially be armed. Saying that, though, if they realize that someone is home and has discovered their activities they may be more inclined to flee instead of sticking around. Make sure that you don’t put yourself into any unnecessary danger as possessions can easily be replaced, but a life cannot.