NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Nearly a dozen police departments in the Greater New Haven area are now coming together for a task force to stop car thefts and street takeovers.
The Joint Regional Task Force on Auto Theft has been operating for about a month now, centralized in New Haven.
“This collaboration is what we need in law enforcement today, especially since the people committing these crimes know no borders,” said Chief Karl Jacobson with the New Haven Police Department.
Eleven different departments are involved in the operation from Ansonia, East Haven, Hamden, Naugatuck, New Haven, North Haven, Orange, Wallingford, West Haven, Woodbridge, Yale and the Connecticut State Police.
Since Oct. 12, Jacobson said they’ve recovered nine stolen cars, made 14 arrests and removed three illegal guns from the streets.
All this has occurred during a busy time in the Elm City, where several street takeovers have taken place the last few weekends. Many of those takeovers, Jacobson said, involved stolen Crown Victoria vehicles, taken from municipal parking lots.
“It’s hard to take care of because our resources are going to different [places], you know. It’s a Friday or Saturday night in New Haven, you have domestic calls, you have downtown bar details, you have a lot going on,” Jacobson said.
Added to the mix are the street takeovers which shut down places like the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge and other residential neighborhoods in the city. Jacobson said it’s mostly young people involved, doing doughnuts in the middle of the street while hanging out of the car and recording it for social media.
“It’s dangerous for those that are in the car, and it’s dangerous for other people on the highways. And we have a task force that is going to come out and find this car, stop it and make the arrest,” said Lt. Derek Werner, supervisor of the Criminal Intelligence Unit for the New Haven Police Department.
Now, with added help from others, they’re combining staff and technology and getting better and faster at cracking down on criminal activity.
“People listen when New Haven speaks. And that is very important that this is not just a New Haven issue, it’s not just this areas issue, but New Haven is central to this issue,” said Chief Anthony Campbell with the Yale Police Department.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said for the most part, the thefts and takeovers involve a small group of young people. Those young people are often times repeat offenders, or taking part in other criminal activity.
“We’re seeing young people that have stolen their seventh or eighth car, and they’re out of jail the next day. And those young people have been offered all kinds of services; they’re not taking them. And they’re clearly not getting any accountability at home,” Elicker said.
It’s something the city is working hard on. Last week, Elicker and Jacobson visited detention centers to look for solutions to bring to state lawmakers.
“We’re going to put together suggestions and we’re going to keep talking to legislators, and we’re going to find what the best solution is,” Jacobson said. “I mean we know the best solution is not locking up all these kids. But when a kid is on his seventh stolen car, what are we doing? What can we do to surround them with services, what’s the next step?”
In the meantime, they’re relying on partners to keep the community safe.
“What we’ve learned about this crime is that it experiences or grows from a level of organization and it is incredibly fast moving. That requires a response that is an equal or superior level of organization,” said Wallingford Mayor Vincent Cervoni.
The auto task force is made up of at least two officers from each of the departments involved. They’re using drones and street cameras to identify not only the people stealing the cars, but those who are watching and taking part in takeovers.
To help the officers cut down on crime in your neighborhood, they’re asking people to report something when you see it, stay vigilant and make sure to lock your cars and keep your belongings out of sight.
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Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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