Greenwich Police recently announced there has been an increase in motor vehicle thefts in town and urged residents to take precautions to protect themselves.
• Remove your keys/ key fob from your vehicle.
• Make sure your vehicle is locked (even in your driveway or garage).
• Do not leave any valuables in your car.
• Do not keep valuables visible.
• Lock your vehicles.
The good news is there have been many recent arrests of car thieves in Greenwich, many by warrant.
Police Arrest another Alleged Car Thief; This One 18 from West Haven
Greenwich Police Make Arrest in 2023 Motor Vehicle Theft
GPD Arrest Driver of Stolen Vehicle by Warrant for 2024 Incident
At the January Riverside Association annual meeting Police Chief Jim Heavey urged residents to lock their cars.
“Every place, every time, everywhere, all the time,” he said. “If you’re in your own driveway, make sure you do that.”
He said residents should call police when they spot suspicious people, giving the example of a recent call police received around 4:30am from someone at Putnam Hill.
“They called us and we responded and in less than a minute two cars were fleeing Putnam Hill. One of them was a Volvo that had the keys left in it. It was a resident’s car being driven by a juvenile from Bridgeport who was wanted for other charges. And the other car was stolen from Madison.”
Heavey said the combination of citizens reporting the suspicious activity and police responding were effective.
“You are part of the solution – not just the police,” Heavey said.
Also, license plate readers – LPRs – flag stolen cars. The town positions the LPRs at I95 interchanges. Also all police cars have them on board. LPRs have been used to successfully prevent car thefts, given there are instances when car thieves will drive a stolen car to Greenwich to look for another car to steal.
Another tool in combating car thefts are key fob pouches. At the Riverside Association meeting the police chief explained the pouches work by blocking the fob’s radio frequency signal from being read by unauthorized devices, thus preventing thieves from remotely unlocking and starting the car.
Nearby in New Canaan, NewCanaanite.com reported in January that the number of vehicles stolen from that town more than doubled in 2024 and that “targeted” car model thefts there had become more frequent, with the majority being taken to some of the bigger cities or used for other crimes. Further, NewCanaanite reported some residents have been targeted for driving a particular vehicle and followed home by thieves.
Greenwich Police ask residents to report suspicious activity any time to 203-622-8004 and to make a confidential report about criminal activity contact [email protected] or 203-622-3333.*