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← All guides · Updated July 2026

After a break-in: preserving CCTV footage as evidence

The first hour after discovering a break-in matters for the footage as much as anything else. A few practical steps stop the recording being overwritten before anyone has seen it.

First, safety and the police

If there is any chance someone is still on the property, do not go in, call 999. For a discovered break-in with nobody present, call 101 (or 999 if it is in progress or you feel unsafe) and follow police guidance on entering the property. This page is about preserving footage, it does not replace what the police or your insurer will tell you to do.

Stop the footage being overwritten

Most camera systems record on a rolling basis, older footage gets overwritten once local storage or a cloud plan's retention window fills up. If you have not already, export or download the relevant clips from the app as soon as it is safe to do so, rather than assuming the footage will still be there in a week. On a system with an NVR, some devices let you lock or back up a specific recording so it is not cycled out with the rest.

What to actually save

• The clip covering the incident itself, with a few minutes either side for context
• Any earlier footage that shows someone acting suspiciously beforehand (a vehicle, a person checking the property)
• Timestamps, most apps show these on export, keep them intact rather than cropping them out
• Full-resolution exports where possible, a screenshot or a heavily compressed video is much less useful as evidence

Handing footage to the police

Export footage in its original file format where the app allows it, rather than a screen recording of the playback, and keep a copy for yourself before handing anything over. Police will normally tell you how they want it sent (a link, a USB copy, an email), ask rather than assume. If you have a crime reference number, save it alongside the footage.

After the immediate aftermath

Once the police and your insurer have what they need, it is worth reviewing whether the camera setup itself needs adjusting: a gap in coverage the break-in exposed, a angle that missed a face, a motion zone that did not trigger recording in time. A fault-finding visit can check whether the system performed as it should have and where it fell short, see the pricing page.