Report a Burglary of Your Vehicle
When you discover that your car or vehicle has been burglarized, report it as soon as possible. As you're reporting the burglary, it's important to remember the timeframe the burglary could have occurred, information about your vehicle and the contents of your car. Here are some tips to help you learn how to report a burglary of your vehicle.
Steps
- Avoid touching anything when you realize your car has been burglarized. By touching your car or the contents of your car, you may smudge or remove any fingerprints that could help identify the suspect. The police officer who will come to the scene needs to be able to examine your car without having it changed or its contents rearranged.
- Contact the local police department or sheriff's office as soon as you can. If the burglary has already happened, call using the non-emergency number. However, if the burglary is in progress or you caught sight of the perpetrator, call the department's emergency number.
- Prepare information for the police report. Not only must you provide your contact information, but details about your car are important for the report. Questions concerning the make, model and year of your car are commonplace for this type of report. Report any visible details you notice concerning the burglary and the location and time where it occurred. If you can make an assessment without rearranging or touching your car, report anything you notice that is missing from your car.
- Allow the law enforcement officer to examine your car. He may dust for fingerprints in order to catch the culprit. The officer will note other details of the break-in, such as broken glass, pried open doors, external damage to your car and anything else he thinks is relevant to the report.
- Obtain serial numbers of any electronic equipment that may have been in your car. If you have records or receipts at home, consult them and call the police department back with the information. This is a good way to help identify a car stereo, laptop computer or other equipment that may have been in your car.
- Call your credit card company or bank if your wallet or purse was taken in the burglary. Additionally, call the credit reporting agencies and report the burglary in association with any fraudulent use of your accounts. If your cell phone was stolen, contact the cell phone company, too.
- Change your locks at home if your house keys were stolen in the burglary.
- Contact your insurance company. Your agent should help you through this process and recover any property or insurance money for the break-in.
Tips
- Always lock your car to avoid a break-in.
Things You'll Need
- Phone
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