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‘They Work Very Hard’: New Canaan Police on Stolen Vehicle Investigations

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Those responsible for the daytime theft this month of a Range Rover with a dog inside the running SUV had been in New Canaan in the past in another vehicle, police said Wednesday. And what those criminals do here, Lt. Marc DeFelice told members of the Police Commission at their regular meeting, is “look for a mistake.”

“They look for you to leave your car unattended for that split 10 seconds and the keys are in it,” DeFelice said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “So they’re not following people for a long while—it’s just driving around looking for a high-end car and when the victim makes a slight mistake, they capitalize on it. Done in a split second, probably 10 seconds.”

Though the 2-year-old French bulldog has been returned safely to her owner, the Range Rover itself is still missing, police have said. In New Canaan, the incident raised concerns due to the brazen and potentially confrontational nature of the theft as well as the suspects getting away.

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.

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E-Bikes in New Canaan: Police To Focus on Educating Core Group of Young Riders

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New Canaan Police are preparing to educate local youth about e-bikes, officials say, as authorities expect young riders to re-emerge downtown once the weather warms up. Police Chief John DiFederico said this week that he plans to assign the department’s school resource officers downtown on Thursday or Friday afternoons when the e-bikes appear to get the most use. “So they [the SROs] can put a name to the face and we can get a roster of who’s riding their bikes up and down Elm Street,” DiFederico told members of the Board of Selectmen during their regular meeting, held Tuesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. The chief’s comments came during a discussion of the Police Department’s proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2026. 

New Canaan last year began seeing young people using the motorized vehicles with some frequency, especially in the downtown. In Connecticut, e-bike motors are not supposed to exceed 750W.

Government

New Canaan Police: Stolen Vehicles More Than Doubled in 2024

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The number of vehicles stolen from New Canaan more than doubled in 2024, officials say. Stolen vehicles increased from 17 to 40 year-over-year, according to Police Chief John DiFederico. The figures represent a 135% rise. “It was not a good year for vehicles,” he told members of the Police Commission during their regular meeting, held Wednesday night at Town Hall and via videoconference. The nature of the thefts appears to be changing in a dangerous way, DiFederico said.

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.