MANCHESTER, Conn. — As crimes committed by juveniles increase, so do the calls for action.
At town meetings last night in both Manchester and Glastonbury, concerned neighbors, members of the police department, and local leaders spoke out about the issues.
“There’s nothing harder than to let a crime like this occur and the officer not be able to chase the vehicle because of the dangers that are involved," said Manchester Police Chief William Darby, "The state of Connecticut back in 2019 issued a new statewide pursuit policy that restricts when we can pursue vehicles, stolen cars happens to be one of them."
Manchester police are still looking for suspects involved in a car theft that happened over the weekend in the area of Hillcrest Road. The theft was one of the incidents that neighbors highlighted during the meeting.
Also at the meeting, the Board of Directors discussed a community protection resolution that formally requests Governor Ned Lamont to call for a special session in order to adress ways to prevent these crimes.
In Glastonbury, the issue of juvenile car thefts was also the main focus during its town council meeting.
An incident last month caught on police dash cam had shown a stolen BMW crashing into another car. The incident resulted in five teens' arrests.
A number of residents at the meeting — including members of a group called Safe Streets Glastonbury — also voiced concerns on the issue.
“We’ve been in town for 20 years, there’s definitely a pattern that didn’t exist even five or ten years ago. It’s happening now and I’m sure it does have to do with the juvenile laws. We need to let them know it’s unacceptable," said one resident.
The Glastonbury Police Department has also formed a dedicated auto theft team with the goal to reduce car thefts and increase arrests for those crimes.
The Manchester Mayor Jay Moran floated the idea of starting a similar group.
Glastonbury is expected to host a forum dedicated to car thefts and juvenile crime on July 22nd. They intend on inviting police representation from a dozen other communities so they can take a multi-town approach to tackle the issue.
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