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In this installment of 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to New Canaan Police Chief John DiFederico about the department’s plans for enforcing the town’s newly adopted summertime ban on gas-powered leaf blowers (its full text can be read here under “Exhibit A”—scroll down). Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:
The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Eight years ago, New Canaan Police Officer Clinton Jarvis went to the hospital for an allergic reaction. He woke up two hours later with a second diagnosis. Doctors had noticed something in the scans: cysts covering both kidneys, consistent with Polycystic Kidney Disease. He was 35 years old.
Created in 2014, the New Canaan Police Department’s Lt. Stephen W. Wood Officer of the Year Award carries “special significance,” Chief John DiFederico said Thursday afternoon. The award recognizes “not only excellence in policing,” DiFederico told about 30 people gathered in the training room at NCPD, “but also the enduring legacy of Lt. Stephen Wood, known fondly to many of us as ‘Woody.’ ”
“Lt. Wood served the New Canaan Police Department and this community with unwavering dedication for 33 years,” the chief said. “Throughout his career, he exemplified integrity, professionalism, compassion and commitment to public service. Those values continue to guide and shape our department today. This year, one officer stood out for truly embodying those same qualities, Officer Matt Blank.”
DiFederico spoke during the NCPD’s annual awards ceremony, held during National Police Week and recognizing outstanding officers for achievements in 2025.
In this installment of 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to New Canaan Police Chief John DiFederico. The department is hosting a crime prevention presentation at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9 at New Canaan Library (register here). Police will field questions from attendee as part of the event. Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:
Burglaries in New Canaan are up 25% year-over-year through the first 11 months of 2025, officials say. The rise, from 20 burglaries through November 2024 to 25 in the same time period this year, is prompting the New Canaan Police Department to advise residents “to secure their houses and put on their alarms and lights, and secure their vehicles—especially when people go on vacation,” according to Police Chief John DiFederico. “We are seeing these burglaries continue to trend upward,” DiFederico told members of the Police Commission during their regular meeting, held Wednesday night at NCPD headquarters. “Our investigators are working every single day to try and develop some suspects, and working regionally with other agencies that are seeing the same trends. So we are working hard on that.”
The comments came during a review of monthly statistics.
Police this past summer warned residents about a new method that burglars used to get inside homes: Using ladders on people’s properties to climb to second-floor entrances.
Overall, larcenies—including at New Canaan businesses and organizations—are about the same year-over-year, according to the data shared by DiFederico.