April 5, 2021

State Rep. Kathy Kennedy Op-ed: Working to Curb the Rise of Car Thefts by Juveniles

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Working to Curb the Rise of Car Thefts by Juveniles

By State Rep. Kathy Kennedy

Many Orange and Milford residents have shared their frustration with, not just an escalation of motor vehicle break-ins, but also the outright brazen these car thefts committed by juveniles who seem to act without fear of significant legal repercussion.

This February, Milford Police Chief Keith Mello told the members of the city’s Board of Police Commissioners that car thefts and robberies are on the rise in Milford.

In recent months Milford police have also said, “From the Stratford to the West Haven to the Orange town line, there is no area of Milford that has not been victimized by vehicle thefts or thefts from vehicles. It’s happening in your neighborhood! Several arrests have been made but we need your help to prevent these types of crimes from happening in the future.”

Furthermore, a state police task force reported last summer that rather than using them for joy-riding, car thieves were stealing cars in the suburbs and using them to commit other crimes, then abandoning them in cities like Hartford or New Haven.

For a historic prospective, the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Miller v. Alabama, in 2012, and Graham v. Florida, in 2010, led Connecticut to revise its juvenile justice laws in 2015, limiting when a juvenile offender could be transferred to adult court.

Many believe the effect of the 2015 law change, today now limits accountability for vehicle thieves, who are largely between 16-24 years old.

According to the Hartford Police Department, the department normally issues a juvenile summons to a suspect and their guardian to appear in court, they’ll be released and later arrested again for stealing more vehicles. Almost everyone arrested for vehicle thefts in Hartford is a repeat offender.

To that end, I, along with my House Republican colleagues have submitted legislation to impose actual consequences for teenagers (15-18) who are repeatedly charged with stealing or attempting to steal a vehicle. Our proposal includes:

Facing charges on the regular criminal docket;
Expanded ability for judges to order detainment or Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring;
Categorize as “serious juvenile repeat offender” upon second theft conviction;
Require Department of Children and Families (DCF) intervention to provide services to offender;
Modify state pursuit policy, allow police to intercept thieves as the crime occurs

Many residents believe we need to put some real teeth behind this law with real consequences. If these offenders are able ransack neighborhood after neighborhood without regard for any actual punishment.

As always, please contact me should you have any questions about this important issue or concerns on any other topics relating to state government at Kathy.Kennedy@housegop.ct.gov or at (800) 842-1423. I do frequently update my State Facebook page and my state website with the latest COVID-19 information.