WESTPORT — “It’s Grand Theft Auto out there.”
That’s how Police Chief Foti Koskinas described the rise in car thefts in town, according to Compo Beach area Representative Town Meeting members who invited him to address the problem in their neighborhood.

The best way to prevent the thefts? Koskinas, as local police officials have often reiterated, advised the gathering: Don’t leave keys in a vehicle and lock it.

There has been a five-fold increase in Westport car thefts since 2016, with the 75 thefts so far this year the highest yet, the chief told the recent gathering, according to the RTM members’ report.

The Compo and Saugatuck Shores areas are particularly vulnerable because many driveways are in close proximity, Koskinas told neighbors meeting at the Compo pavilion. The gathering was organized by RTM District 1 members Chris Tait, Kristin Mott Purcell and Matthew Mandell.

For some young car thieves, the chief likened the crime to a video game in which vehicles are stolen for “points” and in coordination with other groups, the RTM members said in their account.

And, the chief added, the problem is compounded because many of the thieves use stolen cars to travel to the area to steal more vehicles. “They are not driving mom’s car to do this,” he said.

Koskinas, joined by other officers, noted the problem is not limited to Westport, but is plaguing communities across the state.

The town recently joined a new regional task force with other communities in southern Fairfield County to crack down on vehicle thefts.

In launching the task force, police officials again noted, “In almost every case, the stolen vehicle was unlocked with the keys [key fob] inside.”

A particularly brazen crime spree on a single night last August underscored the seriousness of the problem. Police reported at the time that an unlocked Compo Beach home was burglarized and keys were taken to steal two vehicles. A Jeep the thieves used to travel to the beach area apparently was stolen from a home in the northern section of town, where a second car also had been stolen — both of them unlocked and the keys left inside.

In addition to consistently locking cars, Koskinas suggested technology, such as license plate readers, could help stem the tide of vehicle thefts. The chief, acknowledging that some people are concerned about an invasion of privacy such devices pose, said the plate readers could detect stolen vehicles entering town. 

Funding from grants might be available to purchase license plate readers, he said, if town officials agree to approve use of the technology.

Another discussion of local car-theft issues with police will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday, co-hosted on Zoom by RTM District 1 members Chris Tait, Kristin Mott Purcell and Matthew Mandell, as well as the Compo Beach Improvement Association. The link for the call is here.