Police in West Hartford and nearby towns prepare regional campaign against catalytic converter, car thefts

With a rash of catalytic converter thefts happening across the country, police in central Connecticut are organizing a task force to curb those crimes as well as car thefts and car break-ins.

Hartford police will be the lead agency, with help from nearby towns. Investigators and patrol officers will focus on recent violent crimes — and the stolen cars that are often used in them — but also will try to track down what they believe are groups of criminals stealing catalytic converters and wheels from parked cars.

West Hartford Chief Vernon Riddick said Friday that his department is ready to lend two officers to the campaign.

“We believe there is a ring for catalytic converter thefts — it’s filtering down to south Jersey, probably with some overseas element,” Riddick told local business owners in an online meeting about public safety in West Hartford.

“We also have pockets of people who see this as a crime of opportunity,” Riddick said.

West Hartford, like communities throughout the Capitol region, has seen car-targeting crimes fluctuate in the past two or three years. Despite a jump during 2020, car thefts are down slightly in West Hartford. There were 60 in the first six months this year, compared to 65 in the first half of 2020.

Thefts from cars totaled 189 in the first half of 2020, but 197 in the same period this year.

“It’s not just West Hartford, it’s statewide,” Riddick said.

In New Britain, police have seen periodic spikes in car thefts, break-ins and catalytic converter thefts over the past few years, Police Chief Christopher Chute said. For a while last year, city police operated a specialized unit to stop car thieves.

“We get this in waves. On a Wednesday we could get 20 to 30 reports, then for days it’s normal,” said Chute, who believes part of the problem is roving groups of thieves who travel throughout the region.

“They don’t care about town boundaries,” he said.

In late June the state government directed $5 million to help law enforcement in hard-hit areas such as the Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport regions. Each will set up task forces to share resources and information between local police agencies; the state has not announced how much of the money will go to the central Connecticut team.

Hartford police will probably house the unit at their intelligence center, and will coordinate information-sharing between detectives and seasoned patrol officers from more than a dozen communities from Enfield to Bristol, Chief Jason Thody said.

Hartford police have seen a pattern of cars stolen from suburbs being used in shooting and robberies and then dumped or burned in the city.

“The focus will be on catalytic converters and stolen motor vehicles as well as violent crimes around us,” Riddick said.

Car owners across the country have suffered a flurry of catalytic converter thefts. Thieves need less than two minutes to jack up a small car, get under it and then cut off the catalytic converter, Riddick said. If the device is valued at $800 to $1,000, thieves can get about half that much — or $400 to $500 — on the black market.

SUVs and other larger vehicles are even more popular targets: The pollution control equipment is worth more, and their chassis is so high that a thief can just slide under it to cut away the converter, Riddick said.

West Hartford police for the past six weeks have been fielding some patrols in unmarked cars to try to catch thieves in the act. The agency is also asking anyone with information about the thefts — or any other crimes in town — to call its new confidential tip line at 860 570-8969 or by email at WHPDTIPS@westhartfordct.gov.

Overall, the rate of serious crime in West Harford has fallen by nearly 6% since the start of the year, Riddick said.

Riddick called on the local community to help by sharing any information about the thefts, the recent rash of unlicensed ATVs speeding through town or other crimes.

Riddick and Town Manager Matt Hart will host a communitywide forum on public safety on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. It will be shown by WHCi Comcast Channel 5/Frontier TV 6098. West Hartford residents and taxpayers are invited to participate through webex.com and entering meeting number 1324 39 9054, or by calling 408 418-9388 and entering access code 1324 39 9054 at the start of the meeting.