by Ruth Melville

Lock your car doors! That’s the message Connecticut State Police want to send after a rash of thefts from parked vehicles in the Norfolk area. 

In a statement released on Sept. 14, State Police Troop B in North Canaan said they had “taken significant reports of items stolen from within unlocked vehicles in Norfolk, North Canaan and Goshen.” They reminded residents to be sure not to leave keys or key fobs inside parked vehicles and to “remove any valuables from vehicles when they are unattended . . . not leave firearms inside your vehicle and lock your vehicles, especially when leaving them overnight, even at your residence.” 

Several instances of items being stolen from an unlocked vehicles were reported in Norfolk last month, on River Place and Greenwoods Road West. In one case, keys as well as registration and insurance cards were taken; in another, $200 in cash, prescription medications and compact discs were stolen. Margaret Burnett, one of several residents on River Place who had their vehicle broken into in the early hours of Sept. 14, says the experience was disheartening and disappointing, but a state trooper came out and gathered what information he could. 

In North Canaan, various items were stolen from unlocked vehicles on Marilyn Drive and Daisy Hill in September. In Goshen, the window of a locked vehicle on Old Middle Street was smashed, and a bag containing cash was stolen. On Whispering Pines Lane, keys and a wallet, containing credit cards and ID, were taken from an unlocked vehicle; and on West Side Road, sunglasses and a cell phone charger were taken.

Except for the one case in Goshen, in all of the reported incidents the vehicles were parked outside a residence and left unlocked. In most cases, the keys or fobs had been left inside the vehicle.

Trooper First Class Sarah Salerno, from the Connecticut State Police Public Information Office, warns that “leaving keys inside of a vehicle increases the risk that the vehicle will be stolen, not to mention that if house keys or business keys are on the same key ring, this could increase the risk of residential or commercial burglaries. . . . If keys to a vehicle or a residence are stolen we recommend that all of the corresponding locks be changed as a precaution.”

First Selectman Matt Riiska says this kind of activity does happen sporadically in town––in fact, it happened to him several years ago. “People need to be diligent,” he says. “Be careful about what you leave out.” As far as he knows, no cars have been stolen in Norfolk, but the state police say cars have been stolen in Salisbury and Sharon.

The bottom line, Riiska says, is that people need to be aware and lock their houses and cars. Or as the state police succinctly put it, “Hide your stuff. Lock your vehicle.”

As always, anyone observing a suspicious activity in their neighborhood should immediately contact Troop B at 860-626-1820.