1. Make sure you are safe
If there is any chance someone is still inside, do not go in. Leave, call 911 from outside and wait. Nothing in the house is worth meeting the person who broke in.
2. Call the police and get a report number
For a break-in that is over, the non-emergency line is usually right. Ask for the report number: the insurer will ask for it, and so will anyone replacing stolen cards or documents.
3. Photograph before you touch
Take photos and video of the damaged door, the frame, the lock, broken glass and anything disturbed, before anything is moved or repaired. Photograph the lock and strike close up. Insurers pay on evidence, and a repaired door is evidence gone.
4. Secure the door tonight
A forced door is usually not a broken lock. What gives way is the strike plate, held by short screws into the soft trim rather than into the wall stud, and the frame splits around it. The same night, a locksmith can usually:
- fit a reinforced strike with long screws into the stud,
- replace a lock that was drilled, snapped or bent,
- rekey the other doors if keys were taken,
- and leave the door locking properly, with an invoice itemized for your insurer.
Where a frame is too badly split to hold a lock tonight, a good locksmith tells you before starting, so you can get a carpenter lined up. Our break-in repair service works this way across the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys, at any hour.
5. If keys, a bag or a car were taken
Assume whoever has them knows your address. Rekey every exterior lock the same day, change garage opener codes, and if a car key went, have it deleted from the car. Our lost house keys guide lists the doors people forget.
6. Then fix the weak point properly
Look at how they got in. A kicked door wants a reinforced strike and a Grade 1 or Grade 2 deadbolt. A sliding door wants a secondary lock that stops it being lifted, covered on our sliding door locks page. A business with a pried storefront door wants its cylinder and hook bolt looked at; see storefront door locks. Fixing the lock that failed matters more than adding locks that were never tested.
Questions people ask
Should I fix the door before the police come?
No. Photograph everything first, and wait for the report if officers are coming to the scene. Then secure the door.
Can the door be made secure the same night?
Usually yes. A reinforced strike, long screws into the stud and a new lock if needed will hold. If the frame cannot take it, you are told before any work starts.
Will my insurance pay for the locksmith?
Often, under the policy's cover for damage from a break-in. An itemized invoice and photos of the damage make the claim straightforward.
They took my keys. Is rekeying enough?
For the house, yes, if the locks are undamaged. Also change garage opener codes and delete any stolen car key from the car.