New Canaan Police saw a sharp rise in residential burglaries last month, largely among homes left unattended during summer vacation, officials said Wednesday.
Five residential burglaries were reported in August, according to data that Police Chief John DiFederico shared during the regular meeting of the Police Commission, held at the agency’s newly renovated headquarters and via videoconference.
“The month of August was a tough month for us,” DiFederico said.
He continued: “We average about one [burglary] a month, but the month of August was five. We had a rash going through grabbing ladders and hitting second-floor windows. This is probably a good wakeup call for residents that when you’re away for the summer months, please have somebody checking on your house regularly. A lot of these were: People came home from vacation and found their house was burglarized. So that seems to be an August trend.”
Commissioner Jim McLaughlin asked whether the burglarized homes had alarms (yes, but they were going to the second floor using a ladder) and whether the burglars brought their own ladders.
“Or people leave their ladders unattended,” DiFederico said. “The house is getting painted or worked on. You have a ladder, you have a deck. Get to the second floor. So maybe it’s not quite the same alarm system… Secure your ladders, don’t just leave them outside. Have somebody check on your house regularly.”
Commission Chair Foley asked whether the police should advise residents to lock their windows. DiFederico said yes though in the recent burglaries those windows were getting broken anyway.
The discussion came during the chief’s regular update on monthly statistics in staffing, budget and enforcement/activity data.
In other areas, the town is seeing positive trends, attributable mainly to increased patrol presence on the roads and motor vehicle-related enforcement, DiFederico said. Motor vehicle accidents with injuries are down by half year-to-date compared to 2024, the Commission said. McLaughlin noted that stolen vehicles also are down year-over-year—a welcome trend that DiFederico attributed to camera systems as well as increased enforcement.