It happened to me last night. Broke driver's side window and moulding with crowbars at 3am, and did heavy damage to body of the car to the tune of $2200. For all that, nothing was taken, b/c nothing was in the car. It will come back from the shop, and they'll just do it again (a neighbor was hit twice in the past month!). Even with an alarm and all other precautions, if your car is not garaged, there is really nothing else you can do. It's frustrating.

Car broken into Lyon Street last night as well.

WS needs to get a "watchdog on this.

Someone is obviously wandering around the neighborhood with a crowbar at 3am. If a police car drives past, all he has to do is step behind a tree for a few seconds when he hears the patrol car coming. On the other hand, a police officer on foot might stand a better chance of spotting him - after all, how many people are wandering around the neighborhood with a crowbar at 3am?

5 more cars were broken into in the off-street lot for the Townhouses on the Square condos on Greene St and Hughes Pl tonight. This has got to stop!

We need some help with this NOW.

This seems to be a huge surge...please operate foot patrols..the drive bys with flood lights won't catch them-only delay them.

The careless disregard for others' property is slowly encroaching on every "safe" neighborhood in the city.

Do we really have to call in Kurt Russell to stop some petty thieves from breaking into cars which have NOTHING in them to steal?!

In the 2 1/2 years we've lived here, we've had one vehicle broken into and another stolen. Since then I routinely see the tell-tale piles of auto glass on the curbs around the Wooster Square neighborhood. Obviously the police can't stop it. So I pose the question:
What can we do to stop this?

Wow, this is unbelievable. It's as if they are begging to get caught. Security cameras might help - anybody live along the street willing to set some up? Sounds like someone's going to have to sleep in their car w/ a crowbar of their own....

You people in the Wooster Square area need to get an effective Community Management Team . A good CMT will be able to deal with this blight on your neighborhood.

Agree that coverage during the 12-5 am hours is very important. Any insights regarding the recent sudden increase? It seems so brazen and extensive. Has this been such a problem in other parts of New Haven?

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Not only do we need patroll overnight but throughout the day as well. I've witnessed 2 break-ins on DePalma at 6pm and at 11pm. This isn't just happening overnight.

part of the problem is the perceived idea that certain neighborhoods where more middle class, upper middle class and white people live are "safe" neighborhoods (see tristan's comment). i live in a perceived "unsafe" neighborhood where more people of color and low income families live and my car has never been broken into and i rarely, if ever, feel threatened or in danger. come visit the neighborhoods you think you are afraid of and you will see children playing, neighbors planting gardens, students riding school buses and old folks walking to the market. sure theres loud music (which i call the the cops about when its late) and litter sometimes (which i try to pick up), but chances are your car wont be broken into.

in response to hill resident, with all due respect:
Wooster Square is a very diversified community. More white people? mmmmmmmm Probably. Not that unusual for a nation where white people are the largest percentage of the population. But our neighborhood lives harmoniously with a diversity of race, religion and nationalities. In fact, the two thieves who were seen breaking into cars with screwdrivers in the gated parking lot of Townehouses on the Square were an equal opportunity thug coalition: one white, one black.

I am sorry. But a mere few blocks from Wooster Square, there is a grocery store (Ferraro's) across the street from a low income housing residence. I have had to stop in the middle of Grand Avenue SEVERAL times during the summer so that the drug deals in the stopped cars at the corner can be completed. Don't tell ME it's all children playing and neighbors planting. I know when somebody is peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

In addition, are there are many newer and more valuable cars in lower income areas than in middle class areas? Frankly, if I were a thief, I would head for the better neighborhoods. Wouldn't you?

I say we start a Block Watch and have our NHPD District Manager come and meet with our community here in Wooster Square. Every other neighborhood has good Community Management. Why don't we??
Let's get together people and fight this nonsense. The lack of leadership in Wooster Square must end.

There has long been a Bloch Watch here on Wooster Square. Regular meetings with our local police department and the officer assigned our area take place.

You can learn more about this here:
http://woostersqwatch.com/default.aspx

The meetings are the first Wednesday every other month. Usually meetings are at the elementary school or library.

Security cameras and better lighting in off-street parking lots may help. Signs advertising the cameras on the streets and lots may help. This really needs to be stopped NOW. New Haven stands to lose more and more professionals living in the City due to the declining quality of life these crimes pose. And, with these citizens, the City will in turn lose a substantial amount in property taxes, seriously jeopardizing New Haven's future. I have lived in Philadelphia and New York for over 12 years before coming here, and experienced 1 robbery. After having experienced FIVE property crimes here in New Haven since *MAY* (purse stolen, a separate incident of credit card fraud, car #1 vandalized, car #2 broken-into, car #1 broken-into then seriously vandalized AGAIN), we are leaving New Haven for the suburbs. We can't afford the cost and time involved in constantly having to deal with this.

Agreed on foot patrols being the best method. We spotted 2 suspicious males on bikes while we were walking home on Wooster St last night. We heard that the NHPD has actually *reduced* patrols in the area over the past month or two due to issues downtown. The City stands to start losing property tax-paying professionals (like us, who plan now to leave after experiencing 4 property crimes since May) which will have a major impact on the city's future. This has to stop NOW to stanch the bleed of young professionals leaving the City.

Foot patrol in and around Wooster Square until the perpetrators are caught.

Where are our Community Leaders on this ???
It sickens me to realize that I am alone here on Greene St.
I thought we had representation. A guy named Doug PROMSED me safety.
Where is this guy now?
This place is a pit and nobody cares.
I am looking to move to Westville asap. At least they have a strong CMT.

Lyon Street was hit last night with at least 4 cars.

We actually have a great Block Watch and CMT and we have awesome community resident leaders. Most neighborhoods would only be so lucky to have what we have. Before you criticize their efforts, have you been involved? Have you gone to any meetings to assess whether these folks are working or not for us? I don't expect you meant to suggest that they be out each and every night watching your house on Greene Street, although your email suggests that. We have just had a rash of car break ins which totally sucks. We need to change our response in light of the increased activity. Will you volunteer to be part of that effort? Will others? If so, call me at 203-676-0880. Did you know that the CMT meeting is this week, Tuesday at 6:30 at City Hall Meeting Rooms and Lt. Sweeney will be there.

4 more cars hit on Greene Street opposite Wooster Square last night/this morning.

At this point, it actually seems as if they're daring us to try catching them.

I'll be at the CMT meeting this Tuesday. This needs to stop. Every other car in front of my house on Lyon St has been broken into and I'm leaving my car at work until we catch these people.

St. John Street's parking lot for Renaissance Square condo's - one car hit that I could see. Think it was early this am 11-15.

The street light with pole #206 in the beginning of Lyon, where the break-ins have occurred, has been out for about a month (SeeClickFix #61724). Call street lighting at 203.946.6091 to get it fixed!

As a resident of Wooster Square, I am deeply concerned about this rash of break-ins. I have not had it happen to me yet, but am worried that it's only a matter of time. We need all the help we can get from the NHPD and the city to put an end to this!

Time for a "Bait Car"?

Message from the City:

The Police Department has noticed a significant increase in break-ins
to autos in the East Rock and Wooster Square areas. In The East Rock
Section of the city in the last 7 days, 11 cars have been broken into.
In the Wooster Square area there were 47 break-ins to autos over the
last week.

Please take the following precautions very seriously
Carole Morgan
Don’t leave items in your vehicle in plain view.
Park in well lit areas after hours.
Always be aware of your surroundings and people around you.
Never leave your purse, shopping bags, GPS unit or laptops in your
vehicle.
Report any suspicious activity

I live on Lyon St and my car was broken into on Friday night. Nothing was taken. It happened not much past 9:00 that night. I didn't realize there was a Tuesday night meeting. I look forward to going...

I live on Saint John Street and my car was broken into on Saturday night. I discovered it Sunday morning on my way to work. Driver's side window completely smashed, window frame bent, sirius satellite radio stolen. I consider this to be a safe area and hope they catch these lowlives invading our neighborhood.

Is it true that two were arrested last night in connection with the break ins?
(They caused expensive damage while trying to jack my very old car.)

According to Lt. Sweeney. they caught two of the suspects. Their are reports that there are more but at least two were caught.

Here's a link to the NH Register's article on the arrest. A commenter has already linked to one of the suspect's Facebook page.
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/11/18/news/doc4ce4a9cd920fa445245216.txt

they caught the burglars

There was another break in on Greene St before 5 pm. Are the police still working on this?

Police car was parking in the middle of the park this morning at 7:30 am.

I just got back (8AM) from walking the dog, and I saw that another car had been broken into on St. John and Chestnut Street. It didn't look as if the owner knew it yet - it was still in the "just smashed" condition.

Thanks for reopening. It seems like there have been a ton of cops on State Street this week.

Part of the reason why this is continuing is that people who do not live in the area leave things in their cars when they park in Wooster Square. I suggest we start a sign campaign -- post them all around the neighborhood asking people to remove ALL OBJECTS (including GPS mounts/wires, bags, coffee cups, maps, etc....NOTHING should be in view) from inside their vehicles as "there are vandals/thieves operating in the area." Actually, I still see residents leaving objects in their vehicles... All of us need to make our vehicles as unappealing as possible to the thieves, and the signs will serve notice to the thieves that we are well aware of their presence and are not tolerating it. This is akin to the London Underground's "pickpockets operate in this station" announcements... What does everyone think?

It certainly can not hurt, but the fact is that most people I have spoken to (including me) only had coins stolen. Mine was hidden away in my glove box; there was nothing left out to entice theives. Two people I know of who did leave a GPS in their vehicle did not have them stolen, just their change!

Two more cars near me got hit last night. One on Lyon Street in a driveway and another on Jefferson Street. Just tires were hit this time. Unfortunately for one of them, this is not the first time in this string of activity. I wonder if the kids the NHPD caught are back at it or whether these are the other ones that didn't get caught. Vandalism is usually from kids in the area whereas car burglaries can stem from anywhere. Who wants to do patrols or monitoring from your window on shifts?

The NHPD should set up a bait car campaign in New Haven... not only would this put some of the scum in prison but also, soon enough, word will get around that any parked car could be a bait car which will dissuade many potential thieves.

This is getting so ridiculous! I don't understand why more isn't being done. Our neighborhood is small enough that regular patrolling shouldn't be that difficult. I shouldn't have to live in fear that my car will be broken into twice in the same month. We need to band together and do something bc obviously the NHPD isn't going to.

Another thing we need to do as a community is go to the court house when the people who get caught and speak before the court. At the last Wooster Square Block Watch Meeting, the police seemed to suggest that not much would happen to the people who get caught. One way to ensure there is a consequence for this type of behavior is to go to the court. Our job is not over once they get caught. Perhaps Ben Yousey-Hindes can find out the court dates for the kids caught last week.

I agree with others on the bait car campaign, but I am very disheartened that there will be little or no consequence to the perpetrators. This will just continue. Given that not much is really being stolen, and now they have started slashing tires again, they are clearly out there for the thrill and power of destroying other people's property. A fine or a slap on the knuckles won't deter these individuals.

Emily -- I also feel completely helpless, and after 3 incidents to our cars since September, we are seeking to leave New Haven. Seeing that the City does not care or want to do anything about this, just further affirms our decision. We can't afford to live like this anymore, financially or emotionally. The stakes are really this high...New Haven will not improve as a community if it is driving out people who actually care.

Jeffrey Kerekes-

Next time you have a block watch meeting, ask how many police cars are on duty, during the night, AND what AREAS they are responsible for during those hours. I THINK you will see WHY what is happening in Wooster Sq. is happening in other nice areas of New Haven also!

We just noticed another smashed car window (MA plates), this time on Olive St. between Court and Greene. I just tried to report it to the police non-emergency number, but was told by the dispatcher that I could not do so, since I am not the owner of the vehicle. Does that sound correct?

Kyle, that's absurd. What if you found a murder victim? Could you not call that in because it wasn't you? That's a brush-off.

Yeah, Kyle..they told me the same thing when I phoned in a break in several weeks ago...

It's absurd but unfortunately it's true. I called about two weeks ago to report a break in on St. John and the dispatcher said I couldn't since I wasn't the victim. I later saw Lt Sweeney and she said that it is true. So yes I suppose if I saw a murder victim, only the victim could call it in and not me.

It seems strange - but it kinda makes sense.
First, without the owners, there would be no way of getting knowledge about whether something was missing, damaged, etc...or, even if the damage was done BY the owners.
Secondly, there wouldn't be any way for them to know - without sending the officers out on a call - that the break-in hadn't already been reported and responded to by the owners.

It appears they have infiltrated this crime ring:

http://nhregister.com/articles/2010/12/11/news/new_haven/doc4d030db1b3259411514763.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Despite this, I recommend continuing to keep an eye out for thieves, and do not leave any valuables in your cars.