News

Police: ‘High Percentage’ of Stolen Vehicles Had Keys Left Inside Them; NCPD Offering Free Security Assessments

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Police said last week that in nearly all cases, the vehicles that are stolen from New Canaan are left unlocked with the keys left inside. Asked during a Board of Selectmen meeting whether cars ever get stolen when keys are not left in the car, Police Chief John DiFederico said, “It happens, [but] not very frequently.”

“The high percentage of time, the keys are left in the vehicle,” DiFederico said during a Jan. 21 budget presentation to the selectmen, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Fortunately with our license plate reader program, we are identifying some of the cars, not only in our jurisdiction, but we’ve had some success stories.”

The comments came following a report from police that the number of stolen cars more than doubled in New Canaan in 2024. Deputy Chief Andrew Walsh said that the department is working on the cases, and just that week authorities were able to recover one vehicle off of a shipping container in New Jersey.

Government

Police: Speed Enforcement Won’t Solve Mill Road Problems

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Most motorists are traveling at reasonable speeds on Mill Road, according to new data released by the Police Department, meaning a perceived public safety issue on the residential street cannot be solved by radar enforcement alone. Residents about two months ago raised concerns to the Police Commission about speeding motorists zipping by pedestrians and others on the narrow, windy road in southeastern New Canaan. The department followed up by gathering data on driver volume and speed over about two months, getting consistent results, according to Police Deputy Chief Andrew Walsh. 

The 85th percentile of motorists on Mill—a data point that traffic consultants view as indicative of overall speeds—travelled at about 28 mph at last count, while the maximum speed on the road was 45 mph, Walsh told members of the Police Commission at their Nov. 21 meeting. “In looking at it, it seems to be less of an enforcement possibility to be dealt with,” Walsh said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

He continued: “We had our officer set up a few times, and to no result. The speeds are spread out.

News

‘People Could Have Been Killed’: Mill Road Residents Voice Concerns about Speeding Motorists

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Residents of Mill Road on the eastern side of town say speeding motorists are a major hazard for the many young families that walk and cycle in the area. 

Saying it’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or worse, residents are calling for the town to implement traffic calming measures on Mill, a narrow roadway of 31 homes that runs east off of Silvermine Road and then hooks to follow the river toward Norwalk. 

“Ever since we’ve moved in there, the level of speeding is unbelievable,” Neil McMorrow told members of the Police Commission at their Sept. 18 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “The volume of traffic when we first moved in was not that great. And maybe in 2015 or ‘16, I contacted New Canaan Police, I have contacted Norwalk [Police]. New Canaan put a solar[-powered] speed [sentry]—unfortunately, under a tree canopy, so it really didn’t work.

News
NCPD

Town To Acquire 15-Month-Old German Shepherd ‘Lito’ as New Police K-9 Dog

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The New Canaan Police Department’s new K-9 dog is a 15-month-old German shepherd who’s already working well with his handler here. K-9 Officer Sebastian Obando chose the name “Lito” for a special reason, according to Deputy Chief Andrew Walsh. “They leave the naming up to us,” Walsh told the Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting Tuesday, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. “Officer Obando’s father’s nickname was ‘Miguelito’ and he passed away when Officer Obando was on field training with us. So he would like to name the dog Lito, and we think that’s a great thing to do.”

The comments came as Walsh asked for permission from the selectmen to spend $10,000 from a special account for the K-9 program to acquire the new dog.

Government

Town Purchasing Two Solar-Powered Speed Sentries

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved an approximately $27,000 contract with a Bethel-based company to purchase two solar-powered devices to monitor motor vehicle speeds in New Canaan. The selectmen voted 3-0 at their Oct. 3 meeting to approve the $26,783.54 contract for two speed sentries from East Coast Sign & Supply Inc.

The town has “seen a definite benefit to having them out on the street, let’s put it that way, either to gather data in certain sections where we’re having residential complaints or as a permanent installation for the future,” according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The solar-powered sentries will relieve the town of switching out batteries and moving the devices around town, Mann said. “If we have a situation where we think we have a permanent speed problem, we put these up and then we don’t have to necessarily change out the battery,” he said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.