New Canaan Police Offer Stolen Vehicle Prevention Tips

NEW CANAAN, CT — The New Canaan Police Department is asking for the community to help prevent vehicle thefts in town.

In a news release Tuesday, Police Lt. Marc DeFelice said although New Canaan has seen a decrease from 38 stolen vehicles in 2024 to 18 in 2025, vehicle thefts are still occurring.

According to DeFelice, the majority of the cars are stolen in the overnight hours from residential driveways where the keys or key fob is left inside the unlocked vehicle.

There have also been incidents where cars left unlocked or unattended have been stolen from the downtown area, DeFelice said.

"Most recently, in 2026, there were two incidents where vehicles were stolen during the daytime from the center of town while one victim was attempting to pump gas at the Mobil station and the other was shopping at the Acme," DeFelice said in a news release.

See also: 2 Vehicles Stolen From Businesses In New Canaan: Police

To help prevent these thefts, police ask New Canaan residents to:

• Always lock your car doors and windows, even for short periods.
• Never leave your car running.
• Take all keys, spare keys and key fobs with you and when home secure these inside your house.
• Remove or conceal all valuables out of sight (purses, handbags, electronics, cash) from plain sight.
• Park smart and be aware of your surroundings, especially in public parking lots.

If a resident's vehicle is stolen, they are asked to call 911 immediately and attempt to get as much information to share with police, however they should not confront anyone as their safety is paramount, according to DeFelice.

"This is a regional issue that extends beyond New Canaan, with organized groups targeting affluent areas," DeFelice said. "These incidents happen extremely quickly where it is a crime of opportunity that keys have been left in an unlocked vehicle."

New Canaan police detectives are actively investigating these incidents to recover the stolen cars and make arrests of those responsible, DeFelice said.