What should I do if I think someone has broken into my home?
The first ten minutes in order, whether you are outside looking at a forced door or inside hearing a noise — and what not to touch afterwards.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 5 min
- Safety
- restricted
Short answer
Do not go in and do not confront anyone. From a safe place, call 999 if you think someone is inside or a crime is in progress, or 101 if you are certain the house is empty and it happened earlier. Then leave the scene alone until the police say otherwise, and start the list of what is missing from a distance.
This is the one guide here that is about the minutes rather than the fittings. Two situations come up: arriving home to signs of a break-in, and being in the house at night hearing something. The answer to both starts the same way — put distance and a locked door between you and any other person, and let the police deal with it.
Safety
Step by step
- If you are outside and something looks wrong, stay outside.A forced door, broken glass, an open window you know you closed, a light on that should not be. Do not go in to check. Whoever did it may still be there and you will not know until you meet them.
- Get to a safe distance and call.A neighbour's house, a locked car, or up the street. 999 if you believe anyone is inside or a crime is in progress; 101 or your force's online reporting if you are sure it happened earlier and the property is empty.
- If you are inside and hear someone, do not investigate.Get to a room with a door that shuts, take a phone, gather anyone else in the house, and call 999. Making noise from behind a closed door — talking loudly on the phone — is far safer than going to look.
- Use the Silent Solution if you cannot speak.Call 999, and if you cannot talk, listen for the automated message and press 55. Coughing or tapping alone will not get you through. Knowing this in advance is the point of reading it now.
- Say what the call handler needs.The address, whether anyone is inside, whether anyone is hurt, and what you can see. Stay on the line if they ask you to, and tell them where you are so officers do not mistake you for someone else.
- Do not tidy, touch or clean anything.Point of entry, disturbed drawers, tools left behind, footprints in a flowerbed. Forensic opportunities are destroyed by tidying, and it is the instinctive thing to do. Leave it exactly as it is until you are told otherwise.
- Photograph the scene once it is safe.Wide shots and close-ups of damage and disturbance. Useful for the insurer and for your own record, and quick to do before anything is moved.
- Get a crime reference number.The insurer will require it, and it is the reference for uploading any camera footage. Ask for it before the officer leaves or note it from the online report confirmation.
- Save any camera footage immediately.Retention on domestic systems is days. Download and protect the clips covering the whole window of time, not just the moment you think it happened, and ask neighbours to do the same today.
- Deal with the security of the property afterwards.A locksmith for a damaged lock, a glazier or a boarding-up service for glass, and change the locks if keys were taken. Many insurers have an emergency helpline that arranges and pays for this — check before you call anyone.
- Cancel and protect what was taken.Bank cards, house and car keys, and any device with account access. Report a stolen phone to the network, use the manufacturer's find-and-erase tool, and change the passwords for anything that was signed in on it.
Tips
- Register 999 emergencySMS in advance if speaking on a call would be difficult for you. It has to be registered before you need it.
- Keep a list or photographs of serial numbers somewhere off the premises. It transforms both the insurance claim and the chance of recovery.
- Ask about Victim Support when you report it. It is free, independent and available whether or not anyone is caught.
Common mistakes
- Going in to check whether anything is missing — It is the single most dangerous thing to do and it destroys evidence. Nothing inside is worth meeting somebody in a hallway for.
- Tidying up before the police arrive — It is a very natural response to disturbance and it removes fingerprints, footwear marks and DNA. Wait until you are told the scene is released.
If it doesn't work
Not sure whether it is a break-in or something you forgot
Cause: An open window, an unlocked door, a moved item — Fix: Treat it as a break-in until proven otherwise. Ring 101 and let them decide; nobody minds a cautious report, and going in to check is the wrong way to resolve the doubt.
Door will not lock after the damage
Cause: Forced cylinder, bent keep or a distorted frame — Fix: Call your insurer's emergency line first, then an MLA locksmith. A boarding service can make a broken window secure the same day.
Keys were taken
Cause: Keys on a hook, in a bowl, or in a handbag by the door — Fix: Change the affected locks immediately, including any keyed alike. Tell the insurer and, if car keys went, the police reference will matter for that claim too.
Questions people ask
Am I allowed to defend myself if someone is in my house?
The law permits reasonable force in the circumstances as you honestly believed them to be, and there is a higher threshold in a dwelling — but what is reasonable is judged afterwards and the limits are real. This guide will not offer tactical advice. The safe, sensible and recommended action is to avoid confrontation, get behind a locked door and call 999.
Should I chase after someone leaving?
No. Get a description if you safely can — clothing, direction, vehicle and registration — and give it to the call handler. Pursuit puts you at risk and adds nothing the police cannot do better.
How long until the police come?
It depends on the grading. A crime in progress or a risk to a person is an emergency response; a break-in discovered hours later is usually scheduled. Ask what to expect so you know when you can start putting things right.