Easton Police Warn of Vehicle Thefts, Burglaries

EASTON, CT — Police have taken to social media to warn residents to lock and remove valuables from their cars.

"For the second time in the past week, a vehicle was stolen from a residential driveway," police posted on Facebook.

Both vehicles were left unlocked with the keys inside, according to police. The Easton Police also received several other reports of unlocked vehicles being entered and valuables removed.

"Removing valuables and locking vehicles will generally prevent these occurrences as the perpetrators are looking for unlocked vehicles," police said.

Easton now joins the ranks of other southwestern Connecticut towns which are experiencing a spike in car thefts and burglaries.

A report compiled by Ken Barone, project manager at the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at Central Connecticut State University, show that car thefts actually peaked a decade ago and decreased from there but have slowly been increasing the past few years - especially in towns that are near the bigger cities in the state. Ironically, those same cities, except for Waterbury, have seen decreases in car thefts the past few years.

To see how Easton stacks up with the rest of the state, click here.