• Police look for signs of forced entry when there is a burglary in progress.Einbruch image by Angelika Bentin from Fotolia.com
  
  There are specific police procedures to handle a burglary in progress that has been reported to the police department. Officers who are responding to the call must follow these procedures to handle the situation in the safest and most efficient way possible, so no one is injured or killed when they try to arrest the burglars and so they can catch them in the act.
  
  

Approaching the Scene

• When a call for a burglary in progress comes into the dispatcher, police in the area will respond and approach the area quietly. They will drive quickly to the neighborhood, establishment or residence where the burglary has been reported, but will not turn on their police lights or siren in most cases, to avoid alerting the burglars or anyone on lookout for the burglarsy. The less attention officers can draw to their approach, the better chance they have of catching the burglars in the act.
  
  

Create a Perimeter

• Police officers should immediately create the best perimeter around the area while looking around the property and at windows and doors for signs of forced entry. If they see signs of forced entry, such as a broken window or broken door frame, officers have probable cause to enter the property and investigate whether there is a burglar inside the home. If they do not see signs of forced entry, then officers should monitor all the doors to the residence and see if they can open them or not. If there are not enough officers to effectively monitor all the doors, then they should wait outside until more officers arrive.
  
  

Contact Property Owner

• Police should also contact the property owner while they are investigating the burglary in progress, so that if they do find someone inside or someone exiting the property in question, the property owner can confirm whether that person should be there or not. Doing this helps to prevent innocent people from being arrested. When the call to the property owner is made is the judgment call of the police officers, based on the location of the property, the time of night and whether there are signs of forced entry. A responsible police officer will take all precautions to protect the property as well as arrest the person allegedly perpetrating the crime.