There were almost 1.5 million burglaries in the U.S. in 2017, which led to more than $3.4 billion in total property loss. With these types of shocking numbers, it is absolutely essential that you know what to do if you ever experience a break in at your business.

The steps found here will help you prevent other complications that may arise due to the stress and confusion that often occurs after a break-in.

Get in touch with the police. While this may seem obvious, if someone breaks-into your business, you need to contact the police right away. While you may want to investigate the crime scene yourself, this is never a good idea. There is always the chance that the burglar may still be inside and if you confront them, it may get violent. It’s best to contact the police and wait for them to arrive.

Speak with your employees. Based on the amount of damage, and how quickly the police can investigate the scene, you may be forced to close your doors for several days. Be sure you let your employees know what is going on and ask them if they saw anything suspicious hours or days before the burglary. This information may be beneficial in finding the culprit.

Do a security inventory. Once things settle down, you need to stop and do a thorough security inventory. For example, could the burglar possibly have been stopped with a better security system in place? Do you need new cameras or motion sensors? Take some time to figure out how you can improve security at your business to ensure another break-in doesn’t occur in the future.

By using the information here, you can handle the break-in situation and take steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.