ANSONIA – A meeting to discuss vehicle break-ins is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday (Sept. 6) at Hilltop Hose Co. No. 5, 80 Pulaski Highway.
UPDATE: The City of Ansonia has rescheduled this meeting for a date to be announced. It with be held at the Ansonia Senior Center.
Ansonia Police Lt. Patrick Lynch said police will talk about how to protect vehicles from thieves, review current property crime stats, and to listen to people from the Hilltop neighborhood about their concerns.
“This is a statewide issue. You have these groups, predominantly juveniles, who go around packed into a car – four to six people, usually in a stolen car – who go into a neighborhood and start checking door handles,” Lynch said. “If a car door is open, they’ll go in. If it’s a push-button start and the car starts, that means somebody left a keyfob behind. And they take that car.”
Lynch said there have been four vehicle break-ins on the Hilltop and two attempted break-ins since July 1.
Lynch said there have been two vehicles stolen from the Hilltop – one in May and one in August. Both were Kia vehicles, a brand, along with Hyundai, that are stolen at alarming rates.
“We’ve had a white SUV that we believe is stolen with a group of kids in it. They’ve been on the Hilltop a few times,” Lynch said. “The SUV pulls up, the driver stays in the car, the kids pile out of it and start looking for open cars. It’s a quick in and out.”
Lynch said the thieves don’t typically break windows – but will do so if they see something in a locked vehicle worth taking, such as electronic devices.
Overall, motor vehicle break-ins citywide in Ansonia are trending down, Lynch said.
There have been 24 vehicle break-ins so far this year, compared to 35 break-ins by September of 2023, Lynch said.
However, Lynch said he’s interested to hear from the public at Friday’s meeting. There’s always the possibility that vehicle break-ins are not being reported to police.
Larcenies in general declined in Ansonia between 2018 and 2022, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report.
In 2018, there were 354 reported larcenies in Ansonia – the highest yearly total between 2012 and 2022. The city had 318 larcenies in 2022.
Ansonia saw an increase in car thefts from 2019 to 2020 – 43 cars stolen in 2019 to 84 car thefts in 2020. That 2020 number was the highest number reported between 2012 and 2022. In 2022, there were 39 cars stolen in Ansonia.
Residents should not leave vehicles unlocked nor leave anything inside their vehicles. Windows should be shut overnight. Click here for more prevention tips.
On a side note, the post on the official City of Ansonia Facebook page states the full Board of Aldermen will be in attendance. That makes the gathering a meeting under state law and requires 24-hour public notice, an agenda, and minutes to be kept.
