Through the first nine months of the year, New Canaan has seen a dramatic uptick in both stolen vehicles and thefts from cars, town officials reported last week.
Stolen vehicles more than doubled year-over-year through September, from 12 to 28, according to data shared by Police Chief John DiFederico. Larcenies from motor vehicles increased even more sharply, from four to 19 in the same period, DiFederico reported to the Police Commission.
“Stolen vehicles are still trending high,” he told the Commission at its regular meeting, held Oct. 21 at police headquarters. “But I think we did get the word out and I think people are starting to listen. We are working hard with the stolen vehicle task force and Lt. [Marc] DeFelice is working hard in coordinating and trying to curtail that a little bit.”
Despite extensive efforts by police to remind residents to remove valuables from cars and lock them up, criminals continue to find keys inside unlocked vehicles in New Canaan in nearly every instance of stolen cars, police have said.
At the same meeting, DiFederico noted a steep year-over-year rise in both “location checks” (773 to 939) and “admin/visibility” (four to 179) through the first nine months of 2026.
“Our admin visibility has increased dramatically,” he said. “Those are our officers going downtown, getting out of the car downtown, being visible downtown, especially in the evening shifts. People like to see that, keeping an eye on kids on e-bikes and what not. But it’s important for people to see an officer, to see a face and not just the cars driving by.”
Police Commission Chair Jim McLaughlin said, “I think it means a lot to see an officer walking,” adding that it’s important “for the bad guys” to see police, too.
The attraction of easy money will continue to attract the bad guys to our town until the community bands togther successfully to take the target off our backs. One day it’s cars, next day they’re breaking and entering homes. I’d love it if the community could figure out a way to solve and prevent this. No one charitably donates to gangs and criminals but that’s effectively what is happening. Please talk to your neighbors about being vigilant and NEVER leaving cars unlocked or keys in cars. Lock your homes too, even if you leave it for 2 minutes for a walk around the block. There are instances of criminals using hidden cameras to survey homeowner behavior, too. Please help keep New Canaan safe.