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Police: Motor Vehicle Violation-Related Stops Up 48% in 2025

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New Canaan Police conducted 695 motor vehicle violation-related stops in the first two months of 2025, officials say—a 48% rise from the same period last year. The dramatic increase is “good to see,” Police Chief John DiFederico said Wednesday night while reviewing the department’s monthly statistics with the Police Commission during its regular meeting. “Our officers are very active out there, stopping cars, which is very good to deter the other criminals coming into town or at least have a chance to identify some of our criminals who are coming through,” DiFederico said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Having high-visibility enforcement is important for us.”
The comments came as New Canaan comes out of a year that saw stolen vehicles more than double—a result of residents leaving keys in unlocked cars. Last month, police detailed the steps that detectives take to make arrests in stolen vehicle cases.

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NCPD Special Olympics ‘Law Enforcement Torch Run’ Set for June 6

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Town officials on Wednesday night approved a road closure downtown to bring attention to a unique local effort led by the New Canaan Police Department. The Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run, scheduled for Friday, June 6, “is a great event that’s gone on for a long time to unify law enforcement officers from all over the country with Special Olympics athletes, and it’s a huge fundraiser for Special Olympics, especially in Connecticut,” according to NCPD Officer Kelly Coughlin. 

Addressing members of the Police Commission at their regular meeting, Coughlin said, “The Law Enforcement Torch Run involves police officers carrying a literal torch to kick off their Summer Olympics event games, and it’s carried throughout the whole state of Connecticut. We’ve been fortunate the last two years to be able to run through New Canaan with the torch and we will be doing so again this year.”

New Canaan’s leg of the Torch Run starts at the “Pop Up Park” at South Avenue between Elm Street and Morse Court, and runs down South Avenue into neighboring Darien. A longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, Coughlin has arranged for NCPD to participate in the Torch Run in recent years. Launched in 1981 in support the Special Olympics cause by carrying the “Flame of Hope,” the Torch Run happens through communities in every state annually.

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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.

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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.

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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.