Whereas motorcar thefts surged in a lot of the nation, the variety of reported stolen vehicles in Connecticut fell during the last two years after spiking in the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, based on lately launched figures.
Car thefts within the state totaled 5,944 in 2019, hovering to eight,541 in 2020, dropping to 7,771 the subsequent 12 months and seven,060 in 2022, based on the Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau.
In the meantime, different states have been hit with document and near-record numbers of stolen vehicles — greater than 1 million circumstances throughout the nation final 12 months, a 7 p.c improve over 2021 and probably the most reported thefts since 2008, based on the NICB, a nonprofit group that tracks motorcar thefts and different crimes nationwide. California and Texas led the nation with probably the most reported stolen autos in 2022, whereas Illinois had the biggest improve of any high 10 state, with thefts growing by an estimated 35 p.c between 2021 and 2022, the NICB reported.
“We’re seeing automobile theft numbers that we haven’t seen in almost 15 years, and there’s little or no deterrent to cease criminals from committing these acts as they’re simply property crimes, like shoplifting,” NICB President and CEO David J. Glawe mentioned.
The group’s numbers for Connecticut differ barely from knowledge offered by the state Division of Emergency Providers and Public Safety, which lists 7,124 automobile thefts final 12 months, 7,768 in 2021, 8,477 in 2020 and 6,002 in 2019. The state attracts knowledge from particular person legislation enforcement companies, based on the Connecticut Crime On-line website, whereas the NICB makes use of reviews offered to insurance coverage firms and the Nationwide Crime Info Heart. Some theft victims could not have been lined by insurance coverage or could have determined to not report losses to their insurance coverage firms, solely to police, NICB spokesperson Joseph Brenckle mentioned of the discrepancy.
Nonetheless, the info from each sources exhibits a spike in 2020 because the pandemic modified life in Connecticut and all through the U.S. Connecticut lawmakers and police have largely attributed the rise in 2020 to teenage thieves unbound from in-person lessons, prompting some officers — primarily Republicans — to name for a crackdown on juvenile offenders.
The bump in automobile thefts through the pandemic and the following lower displays what police across the state have seen, Avon Police Chief Paul Melanson, who additionally heads the Connecticut Police Chiefs Affiliation, mentioned Tuesday. The spike in thefts was due partly to court docket closings and a scarcity of decision to many automobile theft circumstances because the largely juvenile suspects continued to roam free, Melanson mentioned.
“The can bought kicked down the highway because the felony justice system slowed down,” he mentioned.
Additionally, few assets had been out there to deal with a surge in juvenile crime, together with a scarcity of safe services to carry suspects, Melanson mentioned. Police all through the state discovered that the identical small group of teenagers had been liable for a lot of the thefts across the state, he mentioned, however the younger automobile thieves knew police wouldn’t chase them due to a statewide coverage that prohibits police pursuits if larceny is the one suspected crime they usually knew they’d not be held even when they had been arrested, he mentioned.
Adjustments that helped lower automobile thefts included faster arraignments for juvenile suspects, GPS monitoring for repeat offenders and regional auto theft process forces, Melanson mentioned. Leaders of the Larger Hartford Regional Auto Theft Activity Power mentioned communication throughout city traces proved essential in curbing thefts.
Statistics confirmed that 75% of autos recovered in Hartford in 2020 and 2021 had been stolen within the suburbs and usually, the focused vehicles had been dearer fashions, together with Mercedes, Acura, Porsche, BMW, even a Maserati. Thieves are nonetheless concentrating on excessive finish vehicles, regardless that the general variety of circumstances has decreased, Melanson mentioned.
Regardless of the widespread affiliation between automobile thefts and youths, Kenneth Barone, affiliate director of the Institute for Municipal and Regional Coverage on the College of Connecticut, informed lawmakers final 12 months that solely a couple of third of individuals arrested for automobile thefts within the state have been below age 18, although he famous a major quantity had been of their early 20s.
In distinction, youths made up almost half of these arrested for automobile thefts within the early Nineteen Nineties, Barone added, when the theft totals had been a lot greater. Whole motorcar thefts in 2019 had been an all-time low for the state, he mentioned.
Automotive theft continues to be among the many scorching matters in legislative debates about the best way to deal with juvenile offenders. Tensions flared earlier this month throughout a debate on a invoice that will increase membership on the Juvenile Justice Coverage and Oversight Committee (JJPOC) and focus extra social providers and counseling on juvenile offenders.
Democratic lawmakers burdened that jail isn’t the place for many troubled teenagers, however Minority Chief Vincent Candelora mentioned the Basic Meeting has been “ignoring” the conduct of younger individuals who see no penalties for escalating circumstances of breaking and getting into and automobile theft that result in violent crimes.
