Hartford area police task force working to curb car theft and related crime

Sharing information immediately across town lines has proven crucial in curbing a recent spike in thefts of mostly high-end vehicles and related crimes, leaders of the Greater Hartford Regional Auto Theft Task Force said Thursday. The police task force that targets car thieves has recovered 72 stolen vehicles, arrested carjacking and murder suspects and seized several guns since its launch two months ago.

“All local police departments do a great job investigating their own cases, but historically don’t do a great job at sharing that information with neighboring towns,” said Hartford police Lt. Anthony Pia, who oversees operations of the 25-officer unit.

The task force also includes police from Bloomfield, Bristol, East Hartford, Farmington, Glastonbury, Manchester, Rocky Hill, Southington, West Hartford and Windsor. Members’ communication has been fluid and fast, Pia said, enabling investigators to track car thefts as they unfold. The unit also uses drones to spot stolen vehicles.

Statistics show that 75% of vehicles recovered in Hartford last year were stolen from the suburbs, and that trend has continued this year, task force leaders said. Typically, the targeted cars have been more expensive models, including Mercedes, Acura, Porsche, BMW, even a Maserati.

Thieves use the luxury sedans and SUVs, most of which have been left unlocked with keys and fobs inside, to commit violent crimes, including shootings and robberies, police said. Many of the suspects are juveniles, task force leaders said, and one repeat offender can wreak a lot of havoc.

A 15-year-old boy who was arrested on Oct. 13, for example, had been involved in a shooting and car-jackings spanning several towns, Hartford police spokesman Lt. Aaron Boisvert said. Police found a loaded .40 caliber Glock handgun with a 30-round magazine when the teen was arrested, he said. Interviewed by task force members, the suspect admitted to involvement in car-jackings in Windsor, Hartford and Rocky Hill., Boisvert said.

On Dec, 2, task force members responded to a car-jacking at 221 Trumbull St. in Hartford and tracked the stolen Mercedes to New Britain, through Southington and into Waterbury, where three suspects fled and were soon caught, police said. A 17-year-old from Hartford had a .38 caliber revolver, which police believe was used in the Trumbull Street car-jacking, Boisvert said. Another suspect had been arrested in connection with two stolen vehicles the week before.

Pia and task force leader Capt. Jeff Rousseau said it is not unusual to see car theft suspects back on the streets and breaking the law soon after being arrested for other crimes.

“Very rarely do we run across someone who this is their first time,” Pia said.

Legislators, mostly Republicans, have been calling for tougher penalties for young suspects. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, said recently, “Some of these kids, we’ve got to be a lot stricter with. It’s probably 10% of these folks who are causing 90% of the problems … I take that very seriously, not only are they endangering their lives but also the lives of those around them.”

The recent spike in stolen cars goes against a long-running decrease in motor vehicle thefts in Connecticut, which peaked in 1991. The trend in the location of targeted cars also has been away from the cities and into communities with populations lower than 50,000.

Still, the thieves often drive back into the cities and use the vehicles to commit other crimes, police say. Similar task forces have been created in other areas of the state dealing with the same scenario of car thefts and gun crimes spanning city and suburb.

The Greater Hartford task force was formed after Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody convened chiefs of surrounding police departments to address the increase in auto thefts and related crimes. Since its inception, the unit has made 46 arrests — 27 of those for auto theft. The task force also seized 10 firearms and its work has led to two arrest warrants for murder and 29 warrants for other crimes.

“Bringing regional resources together to work shoulder to shoulder increases the likelihood of solving these crimes,” Rousseau said.

The task force works with state court officials, probation and patrol officers, state police and federal authorities. State funding supports operations, and Pia and Rousseau said discussions are ongoing to continue the unit long-term.

In the meantime, vehicle owners can do themselves and every other potential crime victim a favor by locking their cars and and not leaving vehicles unoccupied and running, police say. Thieves are waiting and watching. More than 90% of the stolen cars that the task force has tracked were unlocked with keys and fobs left inside, Pia said.

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com