What to do after a burglary

[Osprey]

Hi all
So we recently got burgled and lost the following things:

• Scary/sad/"why didn't I just use dropbox": old netbook with tons of personal information, financial spreadsheets, tax info, CV, my writing and half a novel, and photos
• Financially and emotionally sucky: high end gaming consoles and fancy camera, which my partner and I used for bonding experiences
• Gross: all our clothes have been rifled through very thoroughly

What should we do, apart from changing the locks, changing passwords and informing the banks? The only thing we've been able to do so far is the following: my partner sits on the internet playing bejeweled, I threw out half my clothes and bought new lingerie, we both just order takeaways and have insomnia. It's only been three days though.

Just to add that I'm not from the US. Also, this is not my first robbery/burglary. I handled the previous ones quite well and I think the reason is that I came face to face with the people and saw that they were disadvantaged. This time I am very angry because I suspect the culprits were privileged and probably did it for drug money. (Or something. Dunno...) ETA: I was just about to pay the way for a disadvantaged girl to register at nursing school, but now I am feeling like why bother. How horrible of me to let this get in the way of someone's future!

Thanks in advance for any advice. Not sure why but I have this overwhelming instinct to redecorate the apartment and buy scented candles and paintings and vases and flowers.

[Daley]

Won't do much for the consoles and cameras, but for any future laptops and potential smartphones:

http://preyproject.com/

With the laptops, it's important that they're able to use the device to let Prey work, so it's advised that it has some sort of guest account that can be accessed without a password, but you should keep your own account encrypted and backed up (as I'm sure you're likely to do going forward). Dropbox itself isn't the most secure, but combining it with a Truecrypt virtual disk for the sensitive stuff will keep out all but those who know how to reverse engineer encryption keys from known file changes and comparing past revisions. For the smartphones, just leave it secured and locked down. So long as it's still powered on and you trigger it as quickly as possible, the GPS positioning may pay off in spades for both you and law enforcement.

The mental stuff comes down to mind over matter. Give yourself time to heal, and don't give up on people. That just lets the a-holes win.

Also take the opportunity to re-evaluate how important the stuff taken truly is to you. The consequences of theft in a lot of ways is the greatest selling point of minimalist living. Thieves cannot steal what you do not have, and most things worth stealing for money are materialistic frivolities. It's like those stories about people getting mugged when carrying flip phones and the thief giving the phone back.

Anything of value, if it's got a serial number, document it along with make and model and keep records with the insurance company and for law enforcement. Anything that doesn't, document it with photos and professional appraisals for the same reason.

Sometimes, noisemakers can be of value to scare off the thieves, but you don't need to pay for monitored services. There are some general good ideas in this thread:

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/home-securitysurveillance-systems-mustachian-style/

Just remember, safety is a mindset. Anything beyond that are only tools to assist in that safety. A dog might help, and is a good companion. Consider a middle aged dachshund from a pound, they're great alarm animals, family protective, and do well in apartments (if that's your living situation).

[Wanderer]

That sucks.  Do you not have renter's insurance?  Do they not offer that where you are?

You might check in with pawn shops in the area and give them a description of what was stolen. 

[AlmostIndependent]

Give yourself time to heal, and don't give up on people. That just lets the a-holes win.

This, while much easier said than done, is probably the most important part of the whole thing. If you can get to a point (it may take time) where you can forget and forgive then you will be much better for it.

[Osprey]

@I.P. Daley Thank you thank you so much for your technical advice! I am implementing it in case of future incidents. And you have a very informative website.

The insurance would have ended up costing more than replacing the objects but now my partner wants to take out very expensive insurance... I guess you can't buy peace of mind.

Thanks also for the insights. I am feeling much better about humanity and will sponsor that girl after all. We don't have much by way of material things and this incident has reminded me why. In fact, I am planning to get rid of even more stuff.

[gooki]

I hate to say this. But unless the theifs are caught there's a high chance of a repeat burgulary in the next twelve months.

As much as I hate alarm systems, if you are in a high risk neighbor hood, a fucking noisy alarm should be enough to deter the next attempt, at which point your home will then no longer be a target.

It doesn't have to be monitored, nor does it have to be professionally installed. A cheap wireless unit can be very effective.

[Leisured]

My sympathies. My parents were burgled many years ago, and the police gave some advice to make another break in unlikely.

Deadlocks on external doors, so that you need a key to lock and unlock. If anyone breaks in, they still cannot get out through the external doors.

Window locks. Burglars will see them, and know that if they smash a window to get in, they will have to climb out over broken glass.

Movement lights.

[Frankies Girl]

If your personal information was on the stolen laptop, then I'd contact the credit reporting agencies to let them know of possible identity theft. If you're not in the US, then I'm not sure what the procedure is, but here you can put an alert with the credit reporting bureaus and they'll flag any activity and can contact you in the event that something is attempted and/or freeze your accounts.

I'm so sorry this happened to you, and the feeling of being violated does sometimes take a while to fade, but you'll get there. Stay strong and just do your best.