(WFSB) – Car thefts continue to pile up in the state of Connecticut.

Have you ever wondered where your car is most likely to be stolen? How about when?

The I-Team asked dozens of police departments across the state for their data and spent weeks analyzing it for this report.

We asked each department for the dates, times, and locations of where cars were stolen and where they were found.

We got responses from 23 of those departments (so far).

Below are maps and analysis belonging to each city/town department that responded: (it’s worth noting each department keeps data differently and so some questions will not be answered for all departments).

New Haven:

When Meagan Johnson of New Haven realized her car was missing the morning of October 14th, she immediately felt frustrated and stressed. According to a neighbor’s Ring camera video, a car pulled up around 6:58 AM, broke her rear passenger window, and pulled away less than 3 minutes later.

Johnson says the police told her the car would probably turn up in the next few days. It didn’t even take one. About 12 hours later, Johnson actually found it herself, driving around her neighborhood.

In the city of New Haven, from the start of the year through October 27th, there have been 600 car thefts. The majority have been recovered. 33 are still missing.

Johnson had a 2016 Hyundai Sonata, Sonatas and Elantras are the most popular cars to steal in New Haven, according to the data.

Monday was the day the most people reported their car stolen, followed by Wednesday.

Using New Haven police data, we created a map to track where the thefts are happening in the Elm City.

For example, we found 20% of all thefts occurred within the Dwight and Edgewood neighborhoods.

To find out where thefts are happening in New Haven:

Hartford:

In the City of Hartford, there have been more than 950 thefts so far in 2023, compared to 450 at this point last year.

The majority (29%) reported in the 06106 zip code: the Barry Square / Frog Hollow neighborhood, and in 06114 (19%), which includes the area around Brainard Airport.

The Hartford Auto Theft Task Force, as of October 20th, has made 155 arrests this year. 50% of those arrests have been juveniles, 17 and under.

23% have been between the ages of 18-24.

In 17% of stolen car thefts, the keys have been inside the car, 23% of cars were stolen with a USB cable. Most Hyundai and Kia vehicles manufactured between 2011 and 2022 are missing industry-standard anti-theft technology, allowing thieves to easily bypass ignition switches and hotwire the cars.

Roughly 40% of the stolen vehicles this year are manufactured by Hyundai and Kia, according to Hartford Police.

Hartford residents who have a Hyundai or Kia, with their vehicle registration and proof of residency, may receive a free club at the police department. The anti-theft devices lock the steering wheel and make the car undriveable

45% were reported stolen from a highway/road/alley/street/sidewalk. 30% reported stolen from a parking/drop lot/garage. 15% from a home or residence.

** Note: we were not able to convert the data given to us by Hartford Police into a clickable map.

Waterbury:

“I think the public is very frustrated.” With 709 car thefts so far this year, Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo says they’ve already seen 100 more thefts than in all of 2022. They’ve seen an increase in cars stolen from out of town and ending up in Waterbury. Chief Spagnolo says part of the problem in Waterbury is the Hyundai, Kia social media trend. Over the last year, hundreds of videos have popped up showing the vulnerabilities of certain Hyundai/Kia models and how easily they can be stolen.

The other problem, Chief says, is opportunity. Using Waterbury police data, we found at least 25% of all cars stolen had the keys in the car.

“Leaving your car unsecured and running, it’s just not something we have the luxury of doing anymore, we don’t leave fobs in the car,” says Chief Spagnolo. “Make sure that even at a gas pump, you take your keys out of the car, you lock your car.” The chief also recommends getting a club for your steering wheel. But the problem is more than opportunity. “I think we have an issue with juvenile auto theft here,” says Chief Spagnolo. Chief says out of 69 juvenile arrests in 2023 for auto theft, around 40% have been repeat offenders. “There’s that small group that continues to reoffend and continues to engage in criminal activity and comes up on our radar that we’re really failing, we’re doing nothing for,” says Chief Spagnolo.

He says that’s what the legislature, working alongside police and community partners, should be taking a look at.

“We’re just continuously putting them back into the community with the same problems, the same circumstances they had when they got in trouble the first time and we need to figure out how to fix that,” says Chief Spagnolo. “These kids often have truancy issues, they’re not in school when they should be in school. They’re not at locations they should be at. There’s not a lot of structure in their lives so you know they’re not at sporting events, engaged in family activities. We as a law enforcement agency, as a legislature, as a state are failing. We’re not changing their circumstances yet we expect them to have different outcomes.”

44 adults were also arrested for car theft in 2023. Chief Spagnolo credits the work of Waterbury’s Auto Task Force.

“A lot of these auto theft arrests are made after the fact,” says Spagnolo.

To find out where thefts are happening in Waterbury:

Meriden:

Meriden police numbers show more cars are reported stolen on Wednesdays, and are reported stolen between 7-9 am than any other day or time. Out of 288 thefts, 38% were stolen right outside a home or apartment, 30% from a parking lot/garage and 25% from a highway/road/alley.

To find out where thefts are happening in Meriden:

Avon:

There were 23 thefts in the City of Avon through September 22nd, the majority recovered in Hartford, Waterbury, Meriden, and Bristol, according to data.

To find out where thefts are happening in Avon:

Bethel:

According to Bethel Police, there were only 2 cars reported stolen from January 1, 2023 through the end of September.

They were from the area of Old Hawleyville Rd. and Sunny Acres. Both cars were stolen the same night and were unlocked with the keys left inside of them.

One was recovered in New Haven. Exact time of theft is unknown; they were reported around 7AM.

Bristol:

Bristol Police did not have their data readily available, but told the I-Team in early October, they had approximately 150 “motor vehicle theft” reports YTD and 70 “recovered stolen motor vehicle” reports for the same time period.

Branford:

52 cars were stolen in the Town of Branford from January 1st, through September 26th according to police.

All but 6 were recovered. 21% of stolen cars were recovered in New Haven.

To find out where thefts are happening in Branford:

Brookfield:

19 cars were reported stolen in Brookfield, according to police.

26% were reported stolen on a Saturday.

To find out where thefts are happening in Brookfield:

Coventry:

There were 4 cars reported stolen in Coventry.

According to police, on February 26, an ATV was stolen from Sam Green Road. It has not yet been recovered.

On May 15th, an ATV was taken from Oak Leaf Drive.

On July 3rd, a car was stolen from Stonehouse Road. It was recovered on New Park Road in Franklin within 24 hours of theft, according to police. It had been crashed and abandoned.

On August 11th, a car was taken from Flanders Road. According to police, it was recovered on Ives Street in Willimantic within a short period of time due to an Apple Airtag being inside the vehicle.

Cheshire:

34 cars have been reported stolen since the beginning of the year in Cheshire.

Jeeps and Hondas being the most popular models to steal from 2021 through now.

12 of the cars were recovered in Waterbury and Meriden. The rest in New Britain, New Haven, Cheshire, Cromwell and Wolcott.

Cheshire’s Police Department has their own data dashboard, which includes a map, here.

Darien:

There were 27 reported stolen cars in Darien.

According to police, all but three of these incidents involved the vehicles being unlocked and the keys were inside the car.

24 were recovered, with the most being found in New Haven, then Bridgeport, some even recovered in New Jersey and New York.

To find out where thefts are happening in Darien:

Derby:

53 cars have been stolen in the City of Derby since the beginning of the year. Only 4 were not recovered.

47% had the steering column ripped out, something social media has said is easy to do in certain Hyundai and Kia model.

More than 27% had the keys inside the car when it was stolen.

40% of the cars stolen were Hyundais, 20% were Kias.

To find out where thefts are happening in Derby:

East Hampton:

There were 13 vehicles stolen in the Town of East Hampton. Those included a motorcycle and jetski, which were not recovered.

To find out where thefts are happening in East Hampton:

East Hartford:

East Hartford Police referred us to the statistics on their website here.

According to the website, there have 185 motor vehicles reported stolen, with 139 recovered.

East Lyme:

There were 7 cars stolen in East Lyme. All 7 were recovered.

To find out where thefts are happening in East Lyme:

Middletown:

102 vehicles were reported stolen in Middletown.

62 were recovered, the majority being recovered in Middletown.

To find out where thefts are happening in Middletown:

New Milford:

January 1, 2021 through the end of August.

38 were stolen, 28 recovered.

10 were recovered in Waterbury.

To find out where thefts are happening in New Milford:

Newington:

There were 63 vehicles stolen in Newington, 31 recovered.

To find out where thefts are happening in Newington:

Plainville:

29 vehicles were stolen in the Town of Plainville. 22 have been recovered.

To find out where thefts are happening in Plainville:

Stonington:

8 vehicles were stolen in the Town of Stonington.

To find out where thefts are happening in Stonington:

Watertown:

There were 31 vehicles stolen in Watertown, 29 recovered.

To find out where thefts are happening in Watertown:

Windsor Locks:

There were 22 vehicles stolen in Windsor Locks through September 26th.

To find out where thefts are happening in Windsor Locks:

Woodbridge:

There were 10 thefts in Woodbridge, 8 cars were recovered.

To find out where thefts are happening in Woodbridge:

UConn:

As of September 26th, there was one motor vehicle theft on UConn property. It happened April 15th on the UConn Stamford campus. The car, according to UConn, was taken at 7:58 am from the parking garage. It was recovered at 8:40 am that same day when the suspect crashed the car.

CONTINUING COVERAGE:

We will be continuing to ask police departments for their data, and update as we receive.

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